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Purpose: This study aims to evaluate how the structure of medical compression stockings, including three compression levels and five cross-sections from the ankle to the thigh part, will be changed after washing in different conditions and further investigate the effect of the washing parameters on the medical compression stockings. Design/methodology/approach: By washing medical compression stockings in different conditions and measuring the structures (including the density, the girth, the transversal and lengthwise dimension, the weight per unit area and the thickness) of medical compression stockings from the knee to the thigh part. Findings: It was concluded that the density, the weight per unit and the thickness increase and the girth, the transversal and lengthwise dimension, the weight per unit and the thickness decrease. The change degree of Class one and Class two is greater than Class 3. Moreover, the washing temperature is the most significant factor affecting all the structures of medical compression stockings. Meanwhile, the mechanical actions of the washing machine, like drum speed and washing time, also influence different medical compression stockings structures to different degrees. Research limitations/implications: The washing parameter not only includes the temperature and washing cycles but also has other factors, such as the drum speed and washing time. In addition, different kinds of factors will be influenced by each other. Originality/value: This study can provide consumers advices on the washing of medical compression stockings, and attribute to the optimization of materials and structures to maintain its properties for manufacturers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterized by rapid maturation, short growth cycles, and high strength and toughness, bamboo can be compounded with polymers to produce bamboofiber reinforced polymeric composites (BFRPCs). These composites exhibit corrosion resistance comparable to traditional materials such as glass fiber and carbon fiber composites. Additionally, they possess features like low density, high strength, degradability, and environmental friendliness, with low production costs and strong industrial applicability. This paper reviews the accomplishments in BFRPCs and provides an overview of the production processes for BFRPCs. Furthermore, it summarizes the research status of mechanical properties, moisture absorption characteristics, interface performance, and flame retardancy of these composites. The current issues with BFRPCs were analyzed. Finally, the paper explores future research directions and potential applications of BFRPCs. Highlights: The performance studies on BFRPCs are comprehensively presented.Composite processing of BFPRCs is reviewed.Pros and cons of various types of BFRPCs are analyzed.Overview of the applications of BFRPCs in various domains is presented.Future trends and challenges of BFRPCs are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of society and technology, machinery and equipment have enhanced our work efficiency but have also introduced various hazards, such as electromagnetic radiation, medical, industrial, and agricultural rays. The harms these radiations inflict on human health are significant, with severe cases leading to cancer, disability, or even life-threatening situations. Therefore, effective protective measures in some fields are crucial. This paper firstly summarized the basic principles of radiation protection for different rays, then systematically introduced the widely used manufacturing methods for flexible radiation shielding materials, including weaving with metal fibers, fiber blending, silver-plated fibers, and so on. Subsequently, the paper reviewed the testing methods of radiation-protective clothing materials. Finally, it comprehensively concluded the discussions on flexible radiation shielding materials and offered a perspective on their future development trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for rapid quantitative analysis of soil total nitrogen (STN) is of great significance to recycling nitrogen in the ecosystem and crops growth. However, collecting thousands of soil samples and chemical analysis are impracticable, more importantly a deviation from NIRS advantages of rapid, inexpensive and nondestructive. To more efficiently improve the estimation performance and reduce uncertainty of the model when working with small sample sizes (less than 100), solutions from soil particle size decomposition and model fusion were investigated. Elaborately, 123 Latosols samples were collected and decomposed them according to particle sizes to extend limited data at multiple scales. Based on all soil groups decomposed, a hyperspectral data recapture and model decision fusion method were implemented. The results demonstrated that the proposed method increased the scale of spectral data, extracted more STN-related spectral information, improved estimation accuracy, and reduced uncertainty. The fused model based on data from all decomposed groups yielded the best estimated results (root mean square error (R M S E) = 0.075 g. k g - 1 , R 2 = 0.784 , and a ratio of performance to inter-quartile distance (R P I Q) = 3.787 ) on the validation set. Through a tenfold cross-validation, the weighted fusion model with six groups of particle sizes data showed an improvement of 0.307 in R c 2 v and an improved RPIQ of 1.015 compared to models constructed using conventional machine learning (ML) techniques and limited pristine data ( R c 2 v = 0.442 , R M S E = 0.119 ). Therefore, when utilizing NIRS to build rapid and accurate STN predictive models, the proposed method demonstrates great potential in improving the reliability of soil spectral models under small sample sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facile and ecofriendly loading of micro/nano function-specific substances to create functional materials is a trend being pursued by researchers. However, current micro/nano particles loading approaches are often hindered by issues such as uneven distribution, unsatisfactory stability and complicate procedure. In this work, we present an aqueous phase reshaping method that only utilizes the moisture to fabricate the "bubble particles", which could perfectly cater to the topography of the substrate. The green preparation of bubble particles adopts an absolutely zero-pollution method, realizing the firm loading of particles on the substrate. Integrating the preparation and loading of particles overcomes the traditional complicate process, while the aqueous phase reshaping ensures uniform and firm loading of the "bubble particles" onto the substrate. Our mechanism demonstrates a significant enhancement in the interface relation after aqueous phase reshaping, with a 121-fold increase in contact surface area achieved by reducing the height by 1 µm. Furthermore, we explore for the first time the influence of the nature of the receiving substrate on the interface morphology of particles during electrostatic spraying, which has important guiding significance for the interface relationship of electrostatic spraying and even electrostatic spinning materials. We also screen out the natural antibacterial essential oil linalool as the effective specialized antibacterial agent, which can specifically inhibit the odor-producing Proteus in urine, with an antibacterial rate of up to 100%. Taken together, this simple, ecofriendly method for fabricating functional materials with optimal interface stability appears highly promising for use in various products formed by electrostatic spraying/spinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the performance of the parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC) and mitigate the circumferential temperature gradient within the absorber tube, a numerical simulation investigation was conducted involving the implementation of vortex generators. The vortex generator was composed of a ring belt and four ribs, and four types of vortex generators M1, M2, M3 and M4 were proposed. The flow and heat transfer of the absorber tube were analyzed at Reynolds numbers ranging from 10000 to 35000 and inlet temperatures between 373.15 K and 473.15 K, using the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model. The results show that the four kinds of vortex generators—M1, M2, M3 and M4—can induce longitudinal vortices in the heat transfer fluid (HTF) within the absorber tube. These longitudinal vortices diminish the thermal boundary layer's thickness, expedite the mixing of cold and hot fluids, and enhance the overall heat transfer efficiency. Vortex generators M1 and M3 arranged in the reverse direction produce two pairs of reverse rotating longitudinal vortices, while vortex generators M2 and M4 arranged in the same direction form one pair of longitudinal vortices, so the flow resistance in M1 and M3 is slightly larger than M2 and M4. However, from the perspective of heat transfer enhancement effect and comprehensive performance, the vortex generator M3 has the best effect. In M3, the Nu/Nu0 reached the highest value of 1.238, and the performance evaluation criteria (PEC) for M3 exceeded 1, reaching a maximum of 1.11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the high-speed railway system, trains' original timetable is often disturbed by some emergencies including geological disasters and equipment failures, which brings great influence to passengers. This paper proposes a real-time high-speed train dispatching model in case of segment blockages, where a railway network is considered. The model includes the following two parts. First, if the trains are not cancelled or decelerated after a blockage occurs, the scope of the affected trains and stations is roughly estimated via the prediction of delay propagation model. Second, with the overall delay as the objective function, this paper constructs a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model by considering the following three adjustment strategies: cancellation, delayed departure and deceleration, where the safe headway of the train operation is guaranteed by the moving blocking principle. Furthermore, to reduce the computation complexity, the solution of the model is only considered within the scope obtained in the first stage. The model is verified by using a small railway network with Nanjing as the hub station, which shows that the model is useful for reducing the effect of a disruption on original timetable, especially in comparison with the First Scheduled First Served (FSFS) rule used in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical solution is presented for the axisymmetric static responses of thick functionally graded (FGM) cylindrical shells with general boundary conditions, which strictly satisfies the boundary conditions along the thickness. The illustrative examples show that the presented solution of thick cylindrical shells under various boundary conditions is of high precision and good convergence. The exact distributions of displacement and stress components along the radial and axial directions are revealed, and the influences of thickness-to-radius ratio, span-to-radius ratio and material gradient index on the static responses of the thick FGM cylindrical shell are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the decline of microglia in the hippocampus has been shown to play a role in the development of depression, and its reversal shows marked antidepressant-like effects. β-glucan is a polysaccharide from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has numerous beneficial effects on the nervous system, including improving axon regeneration and cognition. Considering its immuno-stimulatory activities in cultured microglia and brain tissues, we hypothesize that β-glucan may be a potential candidate to correct the functional deficiency of microglia and thereby alleviate depression-like behaviors in chronically stressed animals. An expected, our results showed that a single injection of β-glucan 5 h before behavioral tests at a dose of 10 or 20 mg/kg, but not at a dose of 5 mg/kg, reversed the depression-like behavior induced by chronic stress in mice in the tail suspension test, forced swimming test, and sucrose preference test. The effect of β-glucan (20 mg/kg) also showed time-dependent properties that were statistically significant 5 and 8, but not 3, hours after drug injection and persisted for at least 7 days. Fourteen days after β-glucan injection, no antidepressant-like effect was observed anymore. However, this effect was overcome by a second β-glucan injection (20 mg/kg) 14 days after the first β-glucan injection. Stimulation of microglia appeared to mediate the antidepressant-like effect of β-glucan, because both inhibition of microglia and their depletion prevented the antidepressant-like effect of β-glucan. Based on these effects of β-glucan, β-glucan administration could be developed as a new strategy for the treatment of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a worldwide expansion of urbanization, the conservation of urban biodiversity is attracting growing attention; it is important to study the relationship between wildlife and urban green spaces. In this study, we selected 31 parks in the urban area of Fuyang City in the North China Plain. A total of 8795 individual birds from 69 species were recorded. The study found that (a) at the local level, tree diversity and heights are the most important factors contributing to each level of bird diversity, followed by the coverage of shrubs and herbs, and (b) at the landscape level, the proportion of woodland has a strong positive correlation with the multidimensional diversity of birds, followed by the patch diversity and percent of grassland. Our results showed that artificial greenland can effectively increase bird diversity. While considering urban planning and human well-being, the proportion of vegetation and landscape in urban parks should be properly planned, providing more habitats to enrich bird diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicosis is an irreversible chronic pulmonary disease caused by long‐term inhalation and deposition of silica particles, which is currently incurable. The exhaustion of airway epithelial stem cells plays a pathogenetic role in silicosis. In present study, we investigated therapeutic effects and potential mechanism of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)‐derived MSC‐likes immune and matrix regulatory cells (IMRCs) (hESC‐MSC‐IMRCs), a type of manufacturable MSCs for clinical application in silicosis mice. Our results showed that the transplantation of hESC‐MSC‐IMRCs led the alleviation of silica‐induced silicosis in mice, accompanied by inhibiting epithelia‐mesenchymal transition (EMT), activating B‐cell‐specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi1) signaling and airway epithelial cell regeneration. In consistence, the secretome of hESC‐MSC‐IMRC exhibited abilities to restore the potency and plasticity of primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) proliferation and differentiation following the SiO2‐induced HBECs injury. Mechanistically, the secretome resolved the SiO2‐induced HBECs injury through the activation of BMI1 signaling and restoration of airway basal cell proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, the activation of BMI1 significantly enhanced the capacity of HBEC proliferation and differentiation to multiple airway epithelial cell types in organoids. Cytokine array revealed that DKK1, VEGF, uPAR, IL‐8, Serpin E1, MCP‐1 and Tsp‐1 were the main factors in the hESC‐MSC‐IMRC secretome. These results demonstrated a potential therapeutic effect of hESC‐MSC‐IMRCs and their secretome for silicosis, in part through a mechanism by activating Bmi1 signaling to revert the exhaustion of airway epithelial stem cells, subsequentially enhance the potency and plasticity of lung epithelial stem cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed for methane-water and methane-brine systems in the range of 263.15 K∼283.15 K, 1 MPa∼10 MPa with the ion mass fraction up to 25 wt%. The interfacial tension (IFT) and density profile, relative adsorption, charge distribution, ions hydration, interfacial thickness are predicted, and the interfacial features are analysed at a molecular level. The results show that the IFT decreases with pressure and is enlarged with the presence of ions, which is positively correlated with ion concentration. Moreover, the methane accumulation and ions depletion at the interface are observed. The relative adsorption of methane and ions at the Gibbs dividing surface and the interfacial thickness are estimated quantitatively. It is shown that the methane relative adsorption is positive and increases at a higher pressure and lower temperature, while the relative adsorption of ions is negative. For the two systems, the interfacial thickness increases with pressure and ion concentration, but the variation trend with temperature is related to the pressure. The interfacial features found in the present study may help understand the interaction among gas, water, and ions, as well as the phase transition behaviour of natural gas hydrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As non-noble metal co-catalysts, Nitrides have received extensive attention for their high efficiency and low cost in photocatalytic hydrogen production. In this study, we develop a novel composite co-catalyst of Au/Ta3N5 that significantly enhanced the photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of CdS. The activity of photocatalyst (Au/Ta3N5)/CdS is 7.3 times of bare CdS and 2.2 times of Ta3N5/CdS. The proper capacitance and enhanced activity of Ta3N5 demonstrates the capacitance catalysis effect of Ta3N5, which improves the charges separation and storing of the photoexcited electrons from CdS. Au acts as an active site for proton reduction to further improve the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the hierarchical bipartite formation tracking (HBFT) problem of the networked perturbed robotic system (NPRS) with dynamical uncertainties, actuator faults and nonlinear state‐to‐output mappings. Different from the traditional single‐layer formation tracking problems based on only cooperative interconnections, solving the HBFT problem implies that (a) the robots of the NPRS are divided into two layers of subnetworks, where the ones in subnetwork 1 can directly interconnect with the leader, those in subnetwork 2 can only interconnect with each other or subnetwork 1, and the ones in the different subnetworks form hierarchical formations; (b) each formation is further grouped into two complementary sets according to the cooperative and antagonistic interconnections, where the robots of each formation forms two opposite subformations; (c) for the same subnetwork, the geometric centers of the two subformations track the positive and negative states of the leader respectively. The positive state equals to the leader state, and the negative state has the elements with the same absolute value and opposite sign of the corresponding one in the leader state. Then, a uniform cooperative observer‐based fault‐tolerant control (COFTC) algorithm is designed to solve these challenging problem. By employing the Lyapunov theory, the sufficient conditions are derived for guaranteeing the convergence of the proposed COFTC algorithm. Eventually, simulation results are performed on NPRS to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appointed-time leader-following consensus problem for second-order multi-agent systems with external disturbance on directed graphs is addressed. A distributed controller based on the cumulative position difference and cumulative velocity difference is proposed, which does not require prior knowledge of external disturbances. It is shown that the proposed controller guarantees the prescribed performance of the controlled systems, namely, to keep the cumulative position difference within a predefined boundary envelope. Furthermore, by employing a novel performance function, it is ensured that the position tracking error converges to an arbitrarily small expected region within the appointed time. Different from most existing finite/fixed-time control methods, here the settling time and the convergence region can both be predefined, which are also independent of initial conditions and the system parameters. Finally, the theoretical results are verified by simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value-added utilization of pineapple waste is very import for the food industry and environmental protection. In this study, whey protein (2.6%, w/w) was added to pineapple waste in order to make up for the protein deficiency of the raw material and give the final products better flavor characteristics. Autochthonous Lactococcus lactis LA5 and Hanseniaspora opuntiae SA2 were used for the co-inoculation of pineapple by-products; during fermentation, the metabolite profiling and microbial community dynamics were investigated. Results showed that the contents of organic acids, total FAAs, total phenolic compounds and flavonoids significantly increased with fermentation, and 152 kinds of peptides were identified in the final products. Relevant analyses demonstrated that dominant strains including Lactococcus lactis, Hanseniaspora and Saccharomyces not only significantly promoted the accumulation of organic acids, total phenols and other active substances, but also inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria and further influenced the fermentation process of pineapple waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This article addresses the leader‐following synchronization problem of multiple rigid spacecraft systems affected by external disturbances with the directed topology. An event‐triggered distributed observer is proposed to estimate the leader's state. By integrating a performance adjustable function (PAF) into the event‐triggered mechanism, the sampling frequency and estimation speed can be adjusted. Based on the event‐triggered distributed observer, an adaptive event‐triggered control scheme is proposed to aganist the external disturbances. With the adaptive event‐triggered control scheme, continuous communication between spacecraft is no longer required and Zeno‐free property can be guaranteed. The effectiveness of the theoretical results is verified by a numerous example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress and inflammation are major drivers in the pathogenesis and progression of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) secretome has regenerative potential and immunomodulatory functions. Human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived MSC-like immune and matrix regulatory cells (IMRCs) are manufacturable with large-scale good manufacturing practice (GMP) preparation. In the present study, the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and the therapeutic effect of the secretome of hESC-MSC-IMRC-derived conditioned culture medium (CM) (hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM) were investigated. Results revealed the capacities of hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM to reduce bleomycin (BLM)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in A549 cells. The administration of concentrated hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM significantly alleviated the pathogenesis of PF in lungs of BLM-injured mice, as accessed by pathohistological changes and the expression of ECM and EMT. A mechanistic study further demonstrated that the hESC-MSC-IMRC-CM was able to inhibit BLM-induced ROS and pro-inflammatory cytokines, accompanied by a reduced expression of Nox4, Nrf2, Ho-1, and components of the Tlr4/MyD88 signaling cascade. These results provide a proof of concept for the hESC-MSC-IMRC-derived secretome treatment of PF, in part mediated by their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. This study thus reinforces the development of ready-to-use, cell-free hESC-MSC-IMRC secretome biomedicine for the treatment of PF in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article mainly considers the bipartite containment control problem of multi-agent systems with first- and second-order dynamics, where the antagonistic networks and multiple leader groups are considered. Specially, under the antagonistic networks, the multiple leader groups constitute two opposite convex hulls. One is a real convex hull composed of the real leader groups and the other is a virtual convex hull composed of opposite virtual leaders. For the first-order multi-agent systems with multiple leader groups, the followers move into the stationary real or virtual convex hull. While for the second-order multi-agent systems, the followers finally move into the dynamic real or virtual convex hull. In both cases, we obtain the sufficient conditions on achieving bipartite containment control. In the end, the effectiveness is verified by some simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau is among the region's most sensitive areas to global climate change. The observation data from 113 meteorological stations on the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions in China for 1971–2017 were used to analyze the periodic oscillations and trends in precipitation and extreme precipitation on multiple time scales to ensemble empirical mode decomposition. The relationship between extreme precipitation and sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies was also explored. The results were as follows. (1) The timing of extreme-precipitation events in the highlands is consistent, with increased total precipitation and increased frequency, intensity, and extreme values of extreme precipitation. (2) Changes in temperature and precipitation are not completely synchronized. The total extreme precipitation, number of extreme-precipitation days, maximum single-day precipitation, and extreme single-day precipitation intensity all showed increases with fluctuations; the quasi-3-year oscillation contributes the most to the extreme precipitation. PRCPTOT is most strongly correlated with R10 and R95p. (3) The spatiotemporal patterns of the first and second empirical orthogonal function modes of the indices differed significantly and were not spatiotemporally uniform, but exhibited local clustering. (4) The Indian Ocean Warm Pool Strength and Western Pacific Warm Pool Strength indices were most highly correlated with each extreme-precipitation index, and the timings of the extreme-precipitation events lagged behind those of the SST anomalies. This study improves our understanding of extreme precipitation events in the context of climate warming and provides a basic analysis for the further assessment and prediction of extreme precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding ecologically fragile areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a novel lytic Vibrio parahaemolyticus phage, vB_VpaP_DE10, was isolated from sewage samples collected in Guangzhou city, China. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that phage vB_VpaP_DE10 has an icosahedral head (52.4 ± 2.5 nm) and a short non-contracted tail (21.9 ± 1.0 nm). Phage vB_VpaP_DE10 lysed approximately 31% (8/26) of the antibiotic-resistant V. parahaemolyticus strains tested. A one-step growth curve showed that phage vB_VpaP_DE10 has a relatively long latency time of 25 min and a burst size of ~19 PFU per cell. The genome of phage vB_VpaP_DE10 is a 42,871-bp-long dsDNA molecule with a G + C content of 49.19% and is predicted to contain 46 open reading frames, 26 of which are predicted to be related to functions such as phage structure, packaging, host lysis, and DNA metabolism. Sequence comparisons suggested that vB_VpaP_DE10 is a member of the genus Maculvirus within the family Autographiviridae. Morphological and genomic analysis indicated that vB_VpaP_DE10 is a novel V. parahaemolyticus phage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The transcriptional level of chitin synthase A (DcCHSA) was investigated in Diaphorina citri Kuwayama at various developmental stages and tissues in this work. The survival and molting of D. citri nymphs were negatively impacted by high concentrations of DFB, which could also cause DcCHSA to express itself significantly. We also looked into how CHS knockout affected nymph development and eclosion. The findings revealed that DcCHSA was critical for the eclosion and molting of D. citri nymphs. This study provides a solid theoretical foundation for D. citri management in China. Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is the vector of HLB and one of the most common pests in citrus orchards in southern China. One of the most significant genes in D. citri's growth and development is the chitin synthase gene. In this study, the CHS gene (DcCHSA) of D. citri was cloned and analyzed by bioinformatics. According to RT-qPCR findings, DcCHSA was expressed at many growth processes of D. citri, with the greatest influence in the fifth-instar nymph. The molting failure rate and mortality of D. citri rose as DFB concentration increased in this research, as did the expression level of DcCHSA. Feeding on DcCHSA caused a large drop in target gene expression, affected nymph molting, caused failure or even death in freshly eclosion adults, increased mortality, and reduced the molting success rate over time. These findings showed that DcCHSA was involved in nymph to adult development and may aid in the identification of molecular targets for D. citri regulation. It provided new ideas for further control of D. citri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical behavior of silicon carbide (SiC) fiber used in ceramic matrix composites is valuable to permit the prediction of composite behavior and tailoring of composite properties. Herein, single‐fiber tensile tests of different SiC fibers are carried out and Weibull analysis is implemented to characterize its tensile property. To better understand its mechanical behavior, the surface and tensile fracture morphology of different fibers are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the fiber elemental composition along the radial distribution is qualitatively analyzed by energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Also, the crystallinity and crystallite size of the fiber are analyzed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the tensile strength of SiC fiber conforms to the Weibull distribution, and its mechanical property is influenced by the surface morphology, elemental composition, crystallinity, and crystallite size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil total nitrogen (TN) is a vital nutrient element that affects the growth and rubber production of rubber trees. Especially in the coastal environment, soil nutrients will show significant differences. Using hyperspectral technology to detect soil nitrogen ion content in the offshore environment can provide technical support for nutrient management. Preprocessing hyperspectral data is a crucial step in accurate spectral model estimation. At the same time, it is considered that the traditional first-order and second-order derivatives are easily unbalanced between the signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in the loss of adequate information. Therefore, this work focuses on the feasibility of fractional order derivative (FOD) combined with partial least squares regression (PLSR) to estimate its TN content. By collecting soil samples from rubber plantations, the TN content of the soil samples was determined, and the spectral reflectance was measured. The FOD of the original spectrum was preprocessed with an interval of 0.2, and 11 spectral curves were obtained. Then, successive projections algorithm (SPA) was used to extract spectral features, and partial least squares regression (PLSR) models of soil TN content were established. The research results show that compared with the traditional integer derivative, FOD has a tremendous advantage in balancing spectral information and noise and can provide more abundant characteristic variables, which helps establish a more robust estimation model. In the range of orders 0–2, the model established by the 1.8-order is the best. Under that circumstance, the determination coefficients of validation (R2v) is 0.649, and the ratio of the performance to deviation (RPD) is 1.72. Combined with FOD, it is feasible and practical to establish an accurate and rapid estimation model of soil TN content, which can provide an important reference for large-scale detection of soil TN content in rubber plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical features of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) (RA-ILD) usually manifest to an advanced stage of lung disease, which leads the challenge of early diagnosis and the difficulty in guiding treatments for patients with RA-ILD in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to construct a nomogram for identifying ILD in RA patients. Through the incorporation of the level of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) in plasma, demographics, clinical feature, and laboratory parameters of 223 RA patients (85 RA-ILD) which were grouped as training cohorts and validation cohorts, an identifying nomogram of RA-ILD was built. Candidate variables for the nomogram were screened using univariable analysis and multivariable logistic regression analysis. The accuracy of the diagnostic nomogram was measured via concordance index (C-index), calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results showed that plasma MMP-3 protein was elevated in RA-ILD patients compared with non-ILD RA patients in both training cohorts (p = 0.0475) and validation cohorts (p = 0.0006). Following a final regression analysis, the gender of male, current smoking state, levels of circulating rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and MMP-3 were identified as risk factors for the construction of the nomogram. The calibration plots further showed a favorable consistency between the identifying nomogram and actual clinical findings. In consistence, the C-index (0.826 for both training cohorts and validation cohorts) indicated the satisfactory discriminative ability of the nomogram. Although the incorporation of MMP-3 failed to significantly improve identified outcomes of the nomogram as determined by DCA, including the level of circulating MMP-3 increased the diagnostic accuracy of the nomogram for ILD in RA patients. Thus, our proposed model can serve as a non-invasive tool to identify ILD in RA patients, which may assist physicians to make treatment decisions for RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on accessible output signals, the distributed event‐triggered robust H∞ consensus control is investigated for a range of uncertain linear multi‐agent systems with external disturbances under directed networks in this article. By introducing some certain variable transformations, the consensus problem of the multi‐agent system is converted into the stability analysis for a cluster of sub‐systems. Different from some conventional consensus protocols which rely on full states and continuous interactions among agents, an event‐triggered consensus control protocol only based on the local observed relative states of neighboring agents at event moments is proposed by adopting an observer to each agent. It is strictly proved that all agents can achieve consensus meanwhile satisfying the desired robust H∞ performance and no agent exhibits Zeno behavior under the proposed control protocol. Finally, an example of a typical mass‐spring system is given to illustrate the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilayer networks have received considerable attention because a network with one layer cannot be used to describe a complex system with multiple relationships inside it. In this paper, we encapsulate the high-speed railway network into dynamic multilayer infrastructures based on the information of train operations and the railway network topology constrained by geographic factors. In our multilayer railway network, each station defines a node and each train route defines a layer. In order to identify key stations in a multilayer network, we first propose some performance metrics to evaluate the importance of stations. Then, an information fusion method based on the Dempster–Shafer evidence theory is introduced. Through this method, the importance of each node in different layers can be fused, and the results of fusion are used to determine the importance of the stations in the whole multilayer network. Finally, some numerical experiments are discussed to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed method. The results developed in this study could provide guidance for improving traffic managements under emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas hydrates have an important role in environmental and astrochemistry, as well as in energy materials research. Although it is widely accepted that gas accumulation is an important and necessary process during hydrate nucleation, how guest molecules aggregate remains largely unknown. Here, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to clarify the nucleation path of methane hydrate. We demonstrated that methane gather with a three-body aggregate pattern corresponding to the free energy minimum of three-methane hydrophobic interaction. Methane molecules fluctuate around one methane which later becomes the central gas molecule, and when several methanes move into the region within 0.8 nm of the potential central methane, they act as directional methane molecules. Two neighbor directional methanes and the potential central methane form a three-body aggregate as a regular triangle with a distance of ~6.7 Å which is well within the range of typical methane-methane distances in hydrates or in solution. We further showed that hydrate nucleation and growth is inextricably linked to three-body aggregates. By forming one, two, and three three-body aggregates, the possibility of hydrate nucleation at the aggregate increases from 3/6, 5/6 to 6/6. The results show three-body aggregation of guest molecules is a key step in gas hydrate formation. Gas hydrates have an important role in environmental and astrochemistry, as well as energy materials, but the hydrate nucleation process is not fully understood. Here, the authors use molecular dynamics simulations to show that methane molecules gather with a three-body aggregate pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of X-ray computed tomography over the last few decades, it is gradually considered to be a powerful tool in the field of materials research. This paper presents a comprehensive review of applications of CT imaging on fiber reinforced composites, from polymer composites to ceramic matrix composites. The principle of X-ray CT and experimental tomography setups was described firstly. Then, in situ experimental devices developed in recent years were illustrated. Furthermore, the applications of X-ray CT imaging on manufacturing process, modeling, mechanical damage, physical, and chemical behaviors were reviewed in detail. Besides, advantages and limitations of X-ray CT imaging were pointed out and the future development was prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an analytical delay propagation model for single railway lines based on the max‐plus algebra theory. The scheduling measures taken by dispatchers, including re‐timing and re‐ordering, will be incorporated into our delay propagation model using a matrix transformation method. An analysis of delay propagation under some typical emergencies such as segment blockages and train speed limitation is performed. Numerical simulations show that the proposed train delay propagation model can predict emergency‐induced train delays under different scheduling strategies, thus may give a guidance to improve the traffic management. In the high‐speed railway train system, the scheduling measures taken by dispatchers, such as re‐timing and re‐ordering, can be formulated as a delay propagation model using a matrix transformation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basis weight distribution of melt-blown fibrous web is attracting considerable interest because it directly affects the application performance of nonwovens. Basis weight distribution is strongly determined by the air velocity distribution on the top surface of the collector. However, how the mentioned air velocity distribution affects basis weight distribution is still unknown. Measurement of the mentioned two distributions is the first step to investigate the influence mechanism. Thus, this work measures air velocity distribution on the collector under different processing conditions. Then the fibrous web is fabricated under same conditions. After fabrication, the basis weight distribution of fibrous web is analyzed by using image analysis method. The effects of processing conditions, including velocity of air jet and suction, die-to-collector distance, and pore size of the collector, on the air velocity distribution and basis weight distribution are quantitatively analyzed. The results demonstrate that higher suction speed and air jet velocity, smaller die-to-collector distance, and larger pores of the collector result in higher air velocity on the top surface of the collector. On the other hand, higher suction speed and air jet velocity, larger die-to-collector distance, and smaller pores of the collector create evenly distributed basis weight. In addition, the correlation between basis weight distribution and air velocity distribution is discussed based on the Spearman correlation analysis method. High correlation demonstrates that air velocity and basis weight display similar distribution on the collector. Namely, both of air velocity and basis weight in the central zone are larger than those in the fringe zone on the collector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), larvae are suspected to inhibit house flies, Musca domestica (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), seeking oviposition sites. However, the mechanisms regulating these interactions are not well known. In this study, a Y-tube olfactometer was used to determine whether black soldier fly eggs, larvae, puparia (without pupae inside), adult carcasses, or resulting frass of black soldier fly decrease attractiveness of adult house flies to an oviposition substrate (i.e. sugar and wheat bran diet, used as the control). Secondly, two symbiotic bacteria associated were isolated, identified, and tested for house fly attractiveness with a Y-tube olfactometer. Thirdly, volatile organic compounds produced by swine feed before and after black soldier fly, or house fly larval digestion were analyzed with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Results indicate feed mixed with black soldier fly larval frass, and symbiotic bacteria, Paenalcaligenes sp. associated with black soldier fly, were less attractive to house flies than the control. However, another symbiotic bacterium Lysinibacillus sp. associated with black soldier fly pupae was attractive. In total, 52 volatile organic compounds were identified from treatments previously described. Quantitative differences in volatile profiles across treatments potentially explain the mechanism regulating house fly substrate choices in the presence, or absence, of black soldier fly larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Withdrawal of cardiac vagal activity is considered as one of the important triggers for acute myocardial infarction (MI)-induced ventricular arrhythmias in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Our previous study demonstrated that cell excitability of cardiac parasympathetic postganglionic (CPP) neurons was reduced in T2DM rats. This study investigated whether cell excitability of CPP neurons is associated with cardiac vagal activity and MI-induced ventricular arrhythmias in T2DM rats. Methods: Rat T2DM was induced by a high-fat diet plus streptozotocin injection. MI-evoked ventricular arrhythmia was achieved by surgical ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Twenty-four-hour, continuous ECG recording was used to quantify ventricular arrhythmic events and heart rate variability (HRV) in conscious rats. The power spectral analysis of HRV was used to evaluate autonomic function. Cell excitability of CPP neurons was measured by the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Results: Twenty-four-hour ECG data demonstrated that MI-evoked fatal ventricular arrhythmias are more severe in T2DM rats than that in sham rats. In addition, the Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that the survival rate over 2 weeks after MI is significantly lower in T2DM rats (15% in T2DM+MI) compared to sham rats (75% in sham+MI). The susceptibility to ventricular tachyarrhythmia elicited by programmed electrical stimulation was higher in anesthetized T2DM+MI rats than that in rats with MI or T2DM alone (7.0 ± 0.58 in T2DM+MI group vs. 3.5 ± 0.76 in sham+MI). Moreover, as an index for vagal control of ventricular function, changes of left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) and the maximum rate of increase of left ventricular pressure (LV dP/dtmax) in response to vagal efferent nerve stimulation were blunted in T2DM rats. Furthermore, T2DM increased heterogeneity of ventricular electrical activities and reduced cardiac parasympathetic activity and cell excitability of CPP neurons (current threshold-inducing action potentials being 62 ± 3.3 pA in T2DM rats without MI vs. 27 ± 1.9 pA in sham rats without MI). However, MI did not alter vagal control of the ventricular function and CPP neuronal excitability, although it also induced cardiac autonomic dysfunction and enhanced heterogeneity of ventricular electrical activities. Conclusion: The reduction of CPP neuron excitability is involved in decreased cardiac vagal function, including cardiac parasympathetic activity and vagal control of ventricular function, which is associated with MI-induced high mortality and malignant ventricular arrhythmias in T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the bipartite consensus problem is addressed for a class of double-integrator multi-agent systems with antagonistic interactions. The cases with and without communication time delays are considered. In particular, if the communication time delays are not taken into account, the bipartite consensus of the studied multi-agent systems with directed signed graph can be achieved by the proposed distributed controller. If the nonuniform communication time delays are considered, the bipartite consensus of the considered multi-agent systems with undirected signed graph can be achieved if the time delays are less than a derived upper bound. Moreover, we propose an algorithm to solve the so-called grouping problem. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the correctness of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) sizes are widely used in textile industry due to their excellent sizing properties on synthetic fibers and their blends. However, PVA contains non‐biodegradable chemicals and is a major contributor to environmental pollution related to the textile industry. To overcome this problem, an environmental‐benign and highly thermal‐resistant yarn coating is fabricated from soy proteins, an agricultural byproduct. The soy proteins are chemically modified by glycols having varying chain lengths and number of hydroxyl groups. Compared with the physically modified soy proteins and their sized yarns, coating made from the soy proteins esterified by 1,4‐butanediol show 91.38% increment in work of rupture at 120 °C and cotton/polyester (65/35) yarns sized by 1,4‐butanediol esterified soy protein sizes have 39.91% decrease in coefficient of friction. In addition, 1,4‐butanediol esterified soy sizes have a five‐day biochemical oxygen demand/chemical oxygen demand of 0.476, indicating that the chemically modified soy sizes have high biodegradability in activated sludge. Successful utilization of modified soy sizes can promote large‐quantity applications of soy byproducts, impelling high value addition to agricultural byproducts and sustainability of textile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the stabilization problem for a class of linear systems with a time-varying state delay. An event-triggered static output feedback controller is proposed, such that the sampling frequency and the update time of the controller are both lowered. First, we present a novel event-triggering mechanism depending not only on the output but also on an exponential term, with which less sampling is required and Zeno behavior can be excluded at the same time. Some sufficient conditions are then obtained, under which an exponential convergence can be achieved by means of the comparison principle approach. It is further shown that the parameters design can be easily given if the case reduces to the state feedback control. Moreover, two examples are presented to show the effectiveness of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D and robust Poly(l‐lactide) (PLLA) fibrous materials has been fabricated via electrospinning and evaporation welding for high‐efficiency dye adsorption and oil/water separation simultaneously. Herein, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) in spinning solution has been found to stimulate fibrous materials forming 3D candy‐floss‐like structure with high porosity and surface area. Also, SDBS doped on fibers surface facilitates dye adsorption and oil separation of the fibrous materials in effluent. Environmentally friendly SDBS‐driven 3D electrospun PLLA fibrous materials have high porosity (99.91%) and stable big pore size (7.39 µm), showing high adsorption capacity of 581.78 mg g−1 toward methylene blue (MB) and 14.67 times improved oil/water separation efficiency compared to traditional 2D PLLA fibrous materials. Moreover, the concept of SDBS stimulated 3D nanofibrous materials can be readily extended to other polymers, paving a new way to fabricate high‐efficient dye adsorption and oil/water separation 3D fibrous filters for industrial waste water remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We recently identified neuronal expression of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a bile acid receptor known to impair autophagy by inhibiting cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (CREB), a protein whose underfunctioning is linked to neuroplasticity and depression. In this study, we hypothesize that FXR may mediate depression via a CREB-dependent mechanism. Methods Depression was induced in male C57BL6/J mice via chronic unpredictable stress (CUS). Subjects underwent behavioral testing to identify depression-like behaviors. A variety of molecular biology techniques, including viral-mediated gene transfer, Western blot, co-immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence, were used to correlate depression-like behaviors with underlying molecular and physiological events. Results Overexpression of FXR, whose levels were upregulated by CUS in hippocampal CA1, induced or aggravated depression-like behaviors in stress-naïve and CUS-exposed mice, while FXR short hairpin RNA (shRNA) ameliorated such symptoms in CUS-exposed mice. The behavioral effects of FXR were found to be associated with changes in CREB-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, as FXR overexpression aggravated CUS-induced reduction in BDNF levels while the use of FXR shRNA or disruption of FXR-CREB signaling reversed the CUS-induced reduction in the phosphorylated CREB and BDNF levels. Molecular analysis revealed that FXR shRNA prevented CUS-induced cytoplasmic translocation of CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 2 (CRTC2); CRTC2 overexpression and CRTC2 shRNA abrogated the regulatory effect of FXR overexpression or FXR shRNA on CUS-induced depression-like behaviors. Conclusions In stress conditions, increased FXR in the CA1 inhibits CREB by targeting CREB and driving the cytoplasmic translocation of CRTC2. Uncoupling of the FXR-CREB complex may be a novel strategy for depression treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper solves the rotating consensus problem for a group of double-integrator agents with event-based communication only. We propose a distributed event-based rotating consensus protocol, which guarantees that a consensus regarding both position and velocity is achieved when all agents exhibit circular motion around the same center. It is observed that overall less communication is required as the communication between agents is only needed at event times. Moreover, with the proposed event-based protocol, it is proved that Zeno behavior can be strictly avoided for each agent. Numerical simulations show that this event-based control law can efficiently solve the rotating consensus problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodegradable adhesives from nano-chitosan-reinforced unfolded soy protein have been fabricated to potentially reduce environmental pollution and drive a sustainable textile industry. The weak adhesion strength and poor water stability of soy protein films limit their use in the textile industry. In this work, the influence of sodium-dodecyl-sulfonate on unfolding of soy protein, and the reinforcement effects of nano-chitosan on the tensile properties of unfolded soy protein adhesives were investigated. The results demonstrate that the bio-adhesives developed had 157% and 85% increments on tensile strength and water stability compared with unmodified soy protein. Also, dry and wet strength of the pulp/viscose wet-laid nonwovens were increased 43% and over 100% after adhesion, indicating that modified soy protein shows promise for use as a textile bio-adhesive for sustainable industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new analytical method for the accurate and precise determination of stable zirconium isotope ratios in geological materials by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) is presented. Isobaric interference from Mo was largely eliminated during filament heating and further reduced by off-line Mo interference correction. This methodology allows the complete elimination of Mo interference even with a Mo/Zr ratio up to 1. Separation of Zr from natural sample matrices was achieved by using a single DGA resin column with a small usage of acids (15 mL of 7 mol L−1 HNO3 and 3 mL of 1 mol L−1 HF). A 91Zr–96Zr double spike was admixed with samples before digestion, which enabled the correction of isotope fractionation that could occur during column separation and mass spectrometry measurement. The long-term measurement reproducibility of δ94Zr is generally better than ±0.06‰ (uncertainty represented by two standard deviations, hereinafter referred to as 2 SD), assessed by repeated analyses of Zr standard reference NIST SRM 3169 and eleven geological reference materials. The Zr isotope ratios of geological reference materials BHVO-2 and AGV-2 obtained in this study are consistent with the reported values measured by MC-ICP-MS, confirming the accuracy of the proposed method. This new method greatly simplifies the chemical separation process and is particularly suitable for Zr isotope analysis of complex matrix (especially for high Mo) samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endocytic recycling of internalized transmembrane proteins is essential for many important physiological processes. Recent studies have revealed that retromer-related Sorting Nexin family (SNX)–Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) proteins can directly recognize cargoes like cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor (CI-MPR) and Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R); however, it remains poorly understood how SNX-BARs select specific cargo proteins and whether they recognize additional ligands. Here, we discovered that the binding between SNX-BARs and CI-MPR or IGF1R is mediated by the phox-homology (PX) domain of SNX5 or SNX6 and a bipartite motif, termed SNX-BAR-binding motif (SBM), in the cargoes. Using this motif, we identified over 70 putative SNX-BAR ligands, many of which play critical roles in apoptosis, cell adhesion, signal transduction, or metabolite homeostasis. Remarkably, SNX-BARs could cooperate with both SNX27 and retromer in the recycling of ligands encompassing the SBM, PDZ-binding motif, or both motifs. Overall, our studies establish that SNX-BARs function as a direct cargo-selecting module for a large set of transmembrane proteins transiting the endosome, in addition to their roles in phospholipid recognition and biogenesis of tubular structures. Internalized transmembrane proteins can be recognized by specific protein complexes and diverted away from the degradation process. This study identifies a new sorting motif recognized by retromer-linked SNX-BAR proteins and reveals a large repertoire of potential cargoes recycled by the SNX-BAR proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the consensus problem for a class of linear multiagent systems, where the communication networks are directed. First, a dynamic event-triggering mechanism is introduced, including some existing static event-triggering mechanisms as its special cases. Second, based on the dynamic event-triggering mechanism, a distributed control protocol is developed, which ensures that all agents can reach consensus with an exponential convergence rate. Third, it is shown that, with the dynamic event-triggering mechanism, the minimum interevent time between any two consecutive triggering instants can be prolonged and no agent exhibits Zeno behavior. Finally, an algorithm is provided to avoid continuous communication when the dynamic event-triggering mechanism is implemented. The effectiveness of the results is confirmed through a numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance to radiation of cancer cells can be either intrinsic or acquired, leading to treatment failure. In response to DNA damage caused by IR, cancer cells are arrested in cell cycle showing limited proliferation and increased apoptosis. However, radiation-resistant cells are able to overcome the cell cycle block and proceed to proliferation, for which the detailed mechanism remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we showed that radioresistant cells exhibited a recoverable G2/M phase during prolonged cell cycle and manifested lower apoptosis rate and more colony formation. RNA-seq analysis revealed that glutamine synthetase (GS, GLUL) gene was highly expressed in radioresistant cancer cells in comparison with the parental cells, which was in accordance with the G2/M arrest after ionizing radiation. Knocking out of GS in radioresistant cells resulted in a delayed G2/M recovery and lowered proliferation rate after ionizing radiation treatment, which was accompanied with increased inhibitory phosphorylation of CDK1 at Y15 and downregulated Cdc25B, a dual specific phosphatase of CDK1. Moreover, there was an enhanced complex formation of CDK1 and Cyclin B1 when the cells were rescued by re-introducing GS. In vivo, knocking down of GS significantly sensitized CNE2-R xenografts to RT in mice. In this study, we demonstrate a novel role of glutamine synthetase independent of metabolic function in promoting recovery from G2/M arrest caused by ionizing radiation, thus, causing cancer cell resistance to radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new, simple and efficient separation method to isolate Mo from complex geological sample matrices for high precision Mo isotope ratio measurements is described. The proposed separation method benefits from the high selectivity and high capacity of the TRU resin, which affords straightforward separation of Mo from complex sample matrices and achieves high yield (∼100%), efficient separation and low blank with the use of only a single mineral acid, HCl (1.5 M for loading and 0.5 M for eluting), and small volumes. As opposed to the commonly used separation protocols, neither redox reagents (e.g., H2O2 and ascorbic acid) nor highly toxic HF is required for the proposed separation protocol, making this separation method straightforward and more environment friendly to operate. Mo isotope ratios were measured by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) using the 97Mo–100Mo double spike in combination with standard-sample bracketing for mass bias correction. The results obtained for igneous rocks, manganese nodules, shales and seawater samples are in good agreement with previously reported values, confirming that the proposed separation protocol is suitable for complex sample matrices and will further promote its geological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of pressure levels and pressure gradients in the design of compression stockings offers excellent potential to enhance function in the sport science, clinical research and rehabilitation fields. Yet, the connection of processing parameters and structure accompanying the pressure characteristic of current graduated compression stockings (GCS) is not well quantitatively studied. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study aims to analyze the effects of processing parameters, such as elastane yarn count, loop length and elastane feeding tension, on the structure and pressure behavior of GCS in our work. In addition, to investigate the mechanism of the pressure characteristic, two numerical models, the cylinder model and the conical model, are employed to predict the pressure value and the pressure gradient of stockings. The experimental results of the statistical analysis indicate that the loop length is a key factor to control the wale density, length of stockings and final pressure values. Moreover, the elastane feeding tension could affect the course density, girth of stockings and pressure gradient. On the other hand, the numerical results reveal that the conical model is suited for predicting the pressure values because of the change in radius of the limb in the model. The entire experimental and numerical work provide the mechanism for the study basis of processing, structure and pressure characteristics of GCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamics of contact angle phenomena is strongly affected by the presence of thin liquid films. However, at present, studies for CO2/brine/mineral systems only consider the films apart from contact angles. In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed to simultaneously investigate the interrelationship between water film thicknesses and water contact angles. Two types of contact angles were considered namely Young's contact angle (no water film is present) and contact angle with film (a stable film is present). The results showed that as Young's contact angle increased, film thickness decreased which leading to increasing of contact angle with film. The effects of CO2-mineral pre-contact have also been investigated and it has been found that on mediate hydrophilic surfaces (Q3), water films were present when CO2 droplets were placed above the surfaces, however, water films were absent when CO2 droplets directly contact with the surfaces. This phenomenon implies that water films on mineral surfaces have a possibility to rupture and a film rupture mechanism for CO2 adhesion on hydrated mineral surfaces was proposed. These results may provide new information on interactions among CO2, water/brine and mineral to better understand the behaviour of CO2 during geologic sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]