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Additional file 1.

Fertilizer and irrigation regimes can have profound effects on soil carbon (C) emissions; however, information regarding the effects of fertilizer and irrigation management on the components of soil respiration (Rs) and the underlying bacterial community characteristics in vineyard ecosystems remains limited. Therefore, a 2-year field experiment was conducted in a wine-grape vineyard (WGV) and table-grape vineyard (TGV). For this experiment, each vineyard included two fertilizer and irrigation regimes: farmers’ practice (FP) and recommended practice (RP). The trenching method was employed to separate Rs into heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and autotrophic respiration (Ra) and soil bacterial community structure was examined after the 2-year experiment. Fertilizer and irrigation regimes have caused no effect on Ra, but RP treatment significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the average daily Rh by 15.13% and 17.11% in the WGV and TGV, respectively, leading to significant (P < 0.05) decreases in annual total Rs values at the scale of whole-vineyard by 8.93% and 11.78%, respectively. The lower annual total Rh was partially ascribed to the significant (P < 0.05) decline in Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes relative abundance, which decreased the rate of organic matter decomposition. When compared with WGV, the higher fertilizer and water input in the TGV resulted in 11.53% and 15.74% higher annual total Rs and Rh values on the scale of whole-vineyard, respectively, while the lower grapevine density and more frequent summer pruning resulted in an 18.83% lower annual total Ra. Overall, RP treatment was found to be a suitable strategy for reducing soil C emissions and benefiting SOC storage in vineyards around North China.

Corneal epithelial cells (CECs) are required for corneal transparency and visual function, and corneal injuries may cause corneal blindness. Skin epidermal stem cells (SESCs), which share the same origin with CECs and have the potential of multi-directional differentiation are ideal seed cells for tissue engineered corneal construction to treat corneal blindness. This study aims to investigate critical genes and pathways that may modulate the transdifferentiation from SESCs to CECs. Isolated SESCs and CECs were used for gene expression analysis by microarray. GO and KEGG pathway of differently expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched using DAVID. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network were then constructed using Cytoscape and highly interconnected module was subsequently isolated from the network by Molecular Complex Detection. Expression of the hub genes and other selected genes were then verified by qRT-PCR. We found 112 upregulated and 105 downregulated genes in CECs compared with SESCs. These DEGs were significantly enriched in focal adhesion, PI3K–Akt and TNF signaling pathway. Highly interconnected module of PPI network contains ten genes. Further regulatory network of these genes showed that ESR1 and SLC2A4 were hub genes. Our study identified gene expression in SESCs and CECs and suggested that several crucial genes and pathways may play critical roles in transdifferentiation from SESCs to CECs. It may help uncover molecular mechanisms and offer a foundation for promoting tissue-engineered cornea into clinical application.

Rotating machinery is essential to modern life, from power generation to transportation and a host of other industrial applications. Since such equipment generally operates under challenging working conditions, which can lead to untimely failures, accurate remaining useful life (RUL) prediction is essential for maintenance planning and to prevent catastrophic failures. In this work, we address current challenges in data-driven RUL prediction for rotating machinery. The challenges revolve around the accuracy and uncertainty quantification of the prediction, and the non-stationarity of the system degradation and RUL estimation given sensor data. We devise a novel architecture and RUL prediction model with uncertainty quantification, termed VisPro, which integrates time-frequency analysis, deep learning image recognition, and nonstationary Gaussian process regression. We analyze and benchmark the results obtained with our model against those of other advanced data-driven RUL prediction models for rotating machinery using the PHM12 bearing vibration dataset. The computational experiments show that (1) the VisPro predictions are highly accurate and provide significant improvements over existing prediction models (three times more accurate than the second-best model), and (2) the RUL uncertainty bounds are valid and informative. We identify and discuss the architectural and modeling choices made that explain this excellent predictive performance of VisPro.

Additional file 1.

Continuum robot, unlike conventional rigid-link robots, has numerous numbers of degrees of freedom, enabling it to be applied for confined space works, such as minimally invasive surgery, safe robot/objective interactions, and in-situ aero-engine detection. This study presented a cable-driven continuum robot with twin-pivot structure, which poses smaller diameter-length-ratio and torsion resistance ability compared with conventional single-pivot structure, as well as the kinematics and shape estimation. The kinematics model of the twin-pivot continuum robot is established based on the assumption of piecewise constant curvature, with which the mapping between driving space and operation space are presented. Finally, a prototype of continuum robot system with single section is constructed to verify the validation of the kinematics model and study the shape estimation. Based on the constructed prototype, the shape estimation of the continuum robot with different payloads is performed. The comparative results suggest that relative error is less than 5% for total length of the single section without payload, verifying the validity of the kinematics model. The comparison between the results with different payloads indicate that the increasing payload will increase the relative error.

Additional file 2.

Purpose This paper aims to present a novel wireless passive pressure sensor based on an aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna embedded with an air cavity for pressure measurement. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the sensitive membrane deformed when pressure was applied on the surface of the sensor and the relative permittivity of the mixed substrate changed, resulting in a change in the center frequency of the microstrip antenna. The size of the pressure sensor is determined by theoretical calculation and software simulation. Then, the sensor is fabricated separately as three layers using printed circuit board technology and glued together at last. The pressure test of the sensor is carried out in a sealed metal tank. Findings The extracted resonant frequency was found to monotonically shift from 2.219 to 1.974 GHz when the pressure varied from 0 to 300 kPa, leading to an average absolute sensitivity of 0.817 MHz/kPa. Research limitations/implications This pressure sensor proposed here is mainly to verify the feasibility of this wireless passive maneuvering structure, and when the base material of this structure is replaced with some high-temperature-resistant material, the sensor can be used to measure the pressure inside the aircraft engine. Originality/value The sensor structure proposed here can be used to test the pressure in a high-temperature environment when the base material is replaced with some high-temperature-resistant material.

In order to identify suitable substrate materials for sue in high-temperature pressure sensors that can operate above 1000°C, the high-temperature properties of four high-performance ceramics (99% pure Al2O3 (99Al2O3), 97% pure Al2O3 (97Al2O3), sapphire, and ZrO2) were investigated. Three-point bend testing was used to measure the flexural strengths and flexural moduli of these ceramics, and transient laser emission was used to measure their thermal conductivities. The samples were prepared by hot-press sintering: plates with the dimensions of 3.5 × 5 × 50 mm3 for the bend testing and rods of φ12.5 × 1.5 mm3 for the thermal conductivity measurements. Curves showing the dependence of flexural strength, flexural modulus, and thermal conductivity on temperature were obtained. The results show that the flexural strength and thermal conductivity of sapphire are much greater than those of the other ceramics tested. Thus, we conclude that sapphire is the most appropriate of these materials for use in high-temperature pressure sensors for operation at up to 1000°C.

This paper systematically studied the simultaneous measurement of two parameters by a LC-type passive sensor from the theoretical perspective. Based on the lumped circuit model of the typical LC-type passive dual-parameter sensor system, the influencing factors of the signal strength of the sensor as well as the influencing factors of signal crosstalk were both analyzed. It is found that the influencing factors of the RF readout signal strength of the sensor are mainly quality factors (Q factors) of the LC tanks, coupling coefficients, and the resonant frequency interval of the two LC tanks. And the influencing factors of the signal crosstalk are mainly coupling coefficient between the sensor inductance coils and the resonant frequency interval of the two LC tanks. The specific influence behavior of corresponding influencing factors on the signal strength and crosstalk is illustrated by a series of curves from numerical results simulated by using MATLAB software. Additionally, a decoupling scheme for solving the crosstalk problem algorithmically was proposed and a corresponding function was derived out. Overall, the theoretical analysis conducted in this work can provide design guidelines for making the dual-parameter LC-type passive sensor useful in practical applications.

Ensuring fruit productivity and mitigation climate change under low consumption of fertilizer and irrigation can contribute to sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to determine whether higher fruit production and lower net global warming potential (Net-GWP) could be realized concomitantly by reducing the amount of fertilizer and water applied. The effect of water and fertilizer management on fruit yield, N2O and CH4 emissions variation was measured over a two-year period to gain insight into Net-GWP and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) in wine grape vineyard (WGV) and table grape vineyard (TGV) in North China. Two fertilizer and water managements were set in each vineyard: optimized practice (OP) treatment and traditional practice (TP) treatment. The results showed that the OP treatment significantly (P

Efficiency is a very important parameter for kilowatt-level wireless power transfer system (WPT). In order to improve efficiency, we should firstly analyze the power loss in every component of WPT system. Based on the systemic analysis the power loss, we pay more attention on the loss in the coils and car shell caused by eddy-current at high frequency. And some efficient measures have been taken to decrease the loss in the coils and car shell and verify by the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and experiments. In this paper, we study the WPT system which is used for battery charging of electric vehicles. Because the WPT system is installed under the automotive chassis (4), and the conditions in the vehicles are more complex than other applications. The eddy-current caused by alternating magnetic field not only exit in the coils but also in the car shell ( the car shell will be simplified with a large iron plate). This paper firstly analyzes the power loss in the system and then we pay more attention on the power loss in the coils and car shell caused by eddy-current at high frequency. At last we take some efficient measures to reduce the power loss and verify by the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and experiments. II. POWER LOSS OF WPT The WPT systems consist of power source, inverter unit, resonant coils, rectifier unit and the load (battery) and they are installed under car chassis, shown as Fig. 1 (a) and the equivalent circuit of the 2-coil coupled magnetically resonant WPT is shown as Fig. 1 (b). In this system, power source provides 50Hz AC power, then inverter unit changes the AC power into a higher frequency. Then AC power is transferred from transmit coil to receive coil at a resonant frequency. When the WPT system works at the resonant frequency, it would achieve a relative high efficiency . At last the high frequency AC power is rectified into DC by the rectifier unit and charge batteries. As every part of the system exits power loss when the electric power is transmitted, this paper firstly analyzes the loss by using precision power analyzer. In this system, the transfer distance is 20cm with air gap.The transmit coil and

The paper introduces the characteristics and functions of fieldbus technology through control of pH value in wet zinc metallurgy process. S7-300 PLC is master station, S7-200 PLC with communication module are secondary stations, and hardware configuration or software designing on profibus-DP are use of SETP7, monitoring software WinCC of master station monitor the system state and process data. So realize the data acquisition, information interaction, failure diagnosis and so on, and lay the foundation for the information management of Zinc metallurgy.

The paper introduces the characteristics and functions of fieldbus technology through control of pH value in wet zinc metallurgy process. S7-300 PLC is master station, S7-200 PLC with communication module are secondary stations, and hardware configuration or software designing on profibus-DP are use of SETP7, monitoring software WinCC of master station monitor the system state and process data. So realize the data acquisition, information interaction, failure diagnosis and so on, and lay the foundation for the information management of Zinc metallurgy.

The present train noise prediction model in Chinese standards (HJ 453-2008 and HJ 2.4-2009) is only aimed for conventional train. Aerodynamic/rolling noise contribution of high-speed train noise are different from those of conventional train noise, thus, the Chinese prediction model might not be adaptable for the prediction of high-speed train noise. The aim of this paper is to discuss the noise prediction models of high-speed train above 300 km/h. Based on the comparative analysis of different models, our work mainly focus on noise source identification. Firstly the sound pressure level distribution on the surface of high-speed train body is investigated. In order to overcome the shortage of single line source, the noise source is divided into three line sources of different heights parallel to each other according to the energy distribution of sound source. Then sound pressure level generated by the three line sources at the receiving point is calculated separately. Finally the predicting outcomes are c...