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ABSTRACTDouble-pass friction stir processing (2P-FSP) was performed on a 6-mm thick AZ31B magnesium alloy plate. Compared to single-pass FSP, the 2P-FSP led to more severe thermal deformation, causing the average grain size in the stir zone to increase, but the dynamic recrystallisation process was more complete. Tensile test results revealed that the yield strength of the 2P-FSP stir zone was improved. Schmid factor analysis showed that the basal slip of 2P-FSP was more difficult to activate. The extension twins formed during the tensile process interacted with the original dislocations, resulting in a better match of strength and ductility. In addition, the physical and mathematical models were established based on the dynamic recrystallisation mechanisms and mechanical property enhancement mechanisms.

Skeletal muscle development is closely related with the amount of meat production and its quality in chickens. Natriuretic peptides (NPs) play an important role in myotube formation and fat oxidation of skeletal muscle in animals. The effect of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), an important member of the NPs, and its underlying molecular mechanisms in skeletal muscle are incompletely understood. Treatment of myoblasts with CNP led to enhanced proliferation/differentiation and significantly upregulated (P<0.05) mRNA expression of the CNP receptors natriuretic peptide receptor B (NPRB) and the clearance receptor C (NPRC). In cells exposed to CNP, 142 differentially expressed genes (84 up-regulation and 58 down-regulation) (P<0.05) were identified by RNA-sequencing compared with those in control cells. Sixteen genes were significantly enriched (P<0.05) in the metabolic pathway, and six of them (phospholipase C β4, phospholipase C β2, phosphoglycerate mutase 1, creatine kinase B, peroxiredoxin 6 and CD38) were closely related to skeletal muscle development and differentially expressed. In conclusion, CNP stimulated differentiation of myoblasts by upregulating expression of the NPRBand NPRCreceptors and enriching key genes in the metabolic pathway.

Sugar is an important material basis in fruit development, and strawberry fruit flavour and sweetness largely depend on the sugar content and variety. Invertases (INVs) play an important role in the regulation of sugar accumulation because they irreversibly catalyse the hydrolysis of sucrose into the corresponding nucleoside diphosphate-glucose, glucose or fructose in fruit. In this work, we provided a comprehensive analysis of the INVgene family in octoploid strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa), including the gene structure, chromosomal locations, conserved domains, and gene evolution and expression profiles during strawberry fruit development. Our study revealed that polyploid events resulted in the abundant amplification (almost three- or four-fold) of the INVgene in the F.×ananassagenome, and these amplified INVgenes showed dominant expression in strawberry fruit. More than half of the FaINVstranscripts with low expression had incomplete coding sequences by alternative splicing. Previous studies have shown that cell wall invertases (CWINV) are involved in the regulation of phloem unloading and sink strength establishment. The expression of FaCWINV1was markedly upregulated during fruit development and strongly expressed in ripe fruit. Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between the total sugar content and the FaCWINV1expression level. These findings suggest that FaCWINV1may be involved in sugar accumulation in strawberry fruit. Taken together, the results of our study will be beneficial for further research into the functions of INVsin the regulation of fruit ripening.

The self-assembly of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) mixed with a fluorocarbon surfactant, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), in aqueous solution was studied. Interestingly, the 1:1 inclusion complex, PFNA@α-CD, was verified to form by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance measurement. Also as the building block, the PFNA@α-CD complex was further self-assembled into worm-like micelles under lower concentrations while hydrogels were self-assembled under higher concentrations. The hydrogels were composed of unilamellar vesicles with polydisperse size, which were clearly detected by freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy measurements. Besides, the vesicle hydrogels showed high viscoelasticities and a substantial elastic characteristic. Also as revealed by the results of Fourier transform infrared measurements, the driving force for the vesicle and worm-like micelle formation was the hydrogen bonding between α-CD molecules. Then, these vesicles were densely packed to form hydrogels. As far as we know, the self-assembly of CDs and fluorocarbon surfactants based on host–guest inclusion in aqueous solution has been limitedly reported. Our work successfully constructed hydrogels consisting of vesicles through the self-assembly of the α-CD/PFNA complex for the first time and will also provide a better understanding and enrich the fundamental research of the self-assembly behavior of the CD/fluorosurfactant complex.

With the widespread use of sensors on smartphones, it is becoming easier to use pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) with smartphones, and making it possible to rely on smartphones for accurate indoor positioning. The existing PDR model is based on two-dimensional effective modelling method of the indoor space, said lack of three-dimensional space. In this paper, the concept of step height is introduced in a creative way, and a three-dimensional PDR model based on gait recognition is proposed, which makes it possible to locate indoor three-dimensional space. The three-dimensional PDR model uses an improved method of step detection and the average accuracy of the model is higher than the traditional 2D PDR model. Meanwhile, the experiment also proved the effectiveness and practicality of the three-dimensional model of the PDR.

This study presents a numerical investigation of cooling performances of a modified vane of the film-cooled vane reported by Timko (NASA CR-168289) at different mainstream turbulence intensities (Tus). A 3D conjugate heat transfer (CHT) analysis with SST k-ω turbulence model in FLUENT V.15 is used. Three different mechanisms in CHT analysis, i.e. fluid flow, heat convection between solid surfaces and flowing fluid in an external mainstream and internal cooling passages, and heat conduction within the vane structure, are simultaneously considered. Numerical results are conducted in terms of overall cooling effectiveness at Tu=3.3, 10, and 20%. Comparison between overall cooling effectiveness and film effectiveness under adiabatic assumption is discussed at the three Tus, also. The findings of this research indicate the following phenomena: 1) overall cooling effectiveness decreases with Tu, and this effect on the pressure side (PS) is stronger than that on the suction side (SS) in general. 2) By comparison with adiabatic film effectiveness, the level of overall cooling effectiveness in most regions is higher and more uniform than that of adiabatic film effectiveness for all three Tus. 3) In the leading edge (LE), when Tu increases, near the exits of film holes overall cooling effectiveness deteriorates, but adiabatic film effectiveness improves. Furthermore, a large area with relatively low overall cooling effectiveness is able to move with Tu in the LE region.

This article describes how in recent years, models-based software reliability test methods have been a hot topic. In order to summarize the research results of the reliability test models created in recent years, and to find new research hot topics on this basis, two kinds of test models are in this article. These include the operational profile and the usage model which are introduced and compared. In addition, the methods of constructing a usage model are also discussed in detail. Finally, the topic of building a usage model is presented.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Designing a feasible and stable water sharing mechanism for transboundary river basins is a big challenge. The stochastic and uncertain characteristics of water flow in these rivers is among the main reasons which make the formation of cooperative coalitions with feasible water allocations and self-enforceable allocation agreements difficult. When the water in these river basins is scarce the task becomes even more challenging. This article focuses on the application of stochastic game theoretic extension of the bankruptcy concept to transboundary water resource sharing under water scarce and uncertain conditions. Among the water allocation vectors obtained from stochastic bankruptcy rules only the ones from the stochastic constrained equal awards rule were selfenforcing under uncertainty. Furthermore, the authors also proposed an allocation rule that can be used under a stochastic setting. The proposed rule provides water allocations that are self-enforcing in the absence of uncertainty. Generally, the application of the stochastic bankruptcy approach could be a source of important strategic information which can serve for the sustainable sharing and management of these vital sources of fresh water, particularly during water scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

•The DCs was fabricated through ion implantation in LN for the first time.•Effective coupling was observed for the transverse magnetic polarization.•This study provides a valid method to adjust the coupling length of DCs.

The objective is to explore the value of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) in replacing cardiac index for evaluating fluid responsiveness during the passive leg raising (PLR) test and mini-fluid challenge (mini-FC).

Tests of Lorentz and CPT violation in the medium baseline reactor antineutrino experiment are presented in the framework of the standard model extension. Both the spectral distortion and sidereal variation are employed to derive the limits of Lorentz violation coefficients. We do the numerical analysis of the sensitivity of LV coefficients by taking the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) as an illustration, which can improve the sensitivity by more than two orders of magnitude compared with the current limits from reactor antineutrino experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are both the black hole horizon and the cosmological horizon for the charged topological dilaton de Sitter spacetime. The thermodynamic quantities on both horizons satisfy the first law of black hole thermodynamics. Because all of these thermodynamic quantities depend on the mass M, the electric charge Q, and the cosmological constant I, the two horizons are not independent. Considering the connection between the black hole horizon and the cosmological horizon, we derive the effective thermodynamic quantities of the (n + l)-dimensional charged topological dilaton de Sitter spacetime. We find that the charged topological dilaton black hole in de Sitter spacetime has a similar phase transition and critical behavior to that in anti-de Sitter spacetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We follow the Chumbes-Holf da Silva-Hott mechanism to study the (quasi)localization of the U(1) gauge field on the Bloch brane. The localization and resonances of the U(1) gauge field are discussed for four kinds of Bloch brane solutions: the original and generalized Bloch brane solutions, as well as the degenerate Bloch brane solutions I and II. With the Chumbes-Holf da Silva-Hott mechanism, we find that the mass spectrum of the gauge field Kaluza-Klein modes is continuous and there is no tachyonic mode. The zero mode is localized on all the branes and there are resonant Kaluza-Klein modes on the degenerate Bloch branes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive mathematical model was established and used to simulate the macro- and microstructure evolution during the production process of 5CrNiMo steel ingot by electroslag remelting (ESR) method. Along the ingot height, the macrostructure distribution characteristics changed from vertical, fine columnar grains to tilted, coarse columnar grains, and this transformation process occurred at the very beginning of ESR. In the cross section of the ingot, there were three grain morphology regions and two grain type transition regions from the outside to the center of the ingot. These regions were the fine columnar grain region, columnar competitive growth transition region, coarse columnar grain region, columnar to equiaxed grain transition (CET) region, and coarse equiaxed grain region. The influence of the remelting rate on the macrostructure and microstructure was investigated using a series of experiments and simulations. The results showed that a low remelting rate could produce a small grain growth angle (GGA); the average secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) firstly decreased and then increased as the remelting rate increased. An excessively high or low remelting rate can increase the GGA and average SDAS in ingots. Thus, the remelting rate should be controlled within a suitable range to reduce composition microsegregation and microshrinkage in the ingot to produce an ESR ingot with satisfactory hot forging performance.

Faulty insulators could appear in the HV transmission line insulator string under the comprehensive effect of electrical, mechanical and environmental factors and they can be detected according to the space potential and electric field distribution variation characteristics around the insulator string. Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to study the potential and electric field distributions of a 220kV suspension insulator string contained a zero-value insulator in windage condition, comparing with a fine insulator string. The results show that the variation of the space potential and electric field distributions of insulator string is the same as that under no windage condition. The curve of synthetic electric field along the central axis around the good insulator string is U-shape. The 10th and 11th insulators from the high-voltage end are the sensitive insulators where the distortion ratio of synthetic field strength is higher than 3%, when a faulty insulator is in the string. This result can provide preferences for the online detection of faulty insulators.

In this paper, we give a model for understanding flavor physics in the lepton sector mass hierarchy among different generations and neutrino mixing patterns. The model is constructed in the framework of supersymmetry, with a family symmetry 54 * U(l). There are two right-handed neutrinos introduced for a seesaw mechanism, while some standard model gauge group singlet fields are included, which transforms nontrivially under family symmetry. In the model, each order of contributions are suppressed by δ ~0.1 compared to the previous one. In order to reproduce the mass hierarchy, mτ and √Δm²atm, and mμ and √Δm²sol are obtained at leading order and next-to-leading order, respectively, while the electron can only get its mass through next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order contributions. For neutrino mixing angels, θ12, θ23, θ13 are 45°, 45°, 0, i.e., the bimaximal mixing pattern as a first approximation, while higher order contributions can make them consistent with experimental results. As corrections for 6i2 and 6i3 originate from the same contribution, there is a relation predicted for them: sinθ13 = 1-tanθ12/1+tanθ12. Besides, the deviation from π/4 for θ23 should have been as large as the deviation from 0 for θ13; if not, the former is suppressed by a factor of 4 compared to the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A totatl of 116 isolates of rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae,were collected from 45 samples in different counties of Heilongjiang Province, and 20 Chinese physiological races belonging to seven groups were identified by using seven standard Chinese rice blast identifying varieties. Results showed that the dominant groups could be ranked as ZA, ZD, and ZB, with the occurrence frequencies of 47.41%, 22.41% and 15.52%, respectively. The race ZA49was the dominant race with the occurrence frequency of 26.72%. The occurrence frequencies of the races ZD5and ZD1were 10.34% and 8.62%, respectively. The rising occurrence frequencies of these three dominant species were the most important reasons that causing Kongyu-131 more sensitive to rice blast. The results of virulence frequency indicated that the race harboring Pi-k, Pi-i, Pi-agene were more susceptible to rice blast in Heilongjiang Province, and they should not be large-scale cultivated.

The genome projects in human and other species have made genetic data widely available and pose challenges as well as opportunities for statistical analysis. In this paper we elaborate the concept of integrated analysis of genetic data, such that most aspects of analyses can be done effectively and efficiently in environments with facility for database accessibility, graphics, mathematical/statistical routines, flexible programming language, re-use of available codes, Internet connectivity and availability. This extends an earlier discussion on software consolidation (Guo and Lange. Theor Pop Biol 57:1-11, 2000). A general context is laid out by recollecting the research paradigms for genetic mapping of complex traits and illustrated with the study of ageing, before turning to the computational tools currently used. We show that the R system (http://www.r-project.org) so far is the most comprehensive and widely available system. However, other commercial systems can potentially be successful. In particular, we compare SAS (http://www.sas.com), Stata (http://www.stata.com), S-PLUS (http://www.insightful.com) and give some indications of future development. Our investigation has important implications for both statisticians end other researchers actively engaged in analysis of genetic data.

Natural carotene is micronized by the SEDS process through prefilming atomization (SEDS−PA) with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of prefilming atomization, examining the variation of carotene purity induced by the SEDS−PA process and studying the influence of operating variables on the particle size (PS) of the carotene precipitates. The carotene/dichloromethane solution to be atomized is driven through a liquid distributor with spiral slots in the prefilming atomizer as a thin film swirling at 45°. At the exit of the atomizer, the atomizing supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) stream impinges on the film at 45°. Through the impingement and the use of swirling, the annular solution film is disintegrated into fine drops, and the mixing of the SC-CO2 and solution is intensified. Compared to the process in which solution is driven through the inner capillary of the atomizer while SC-CO2 is driven through its annular passage, the SEDS−PA process can obtain smaller droplets and finer microparticles with a narrower particle size distribution (PSD). After micronization by the SEDS−PA process, the purity of carotene microparticles is increased for unprocessed carotene with purity ranging from 30% to 87%, but it decreased for carotene with purity higher than 87%. The CO2 flow rate, solution flow rate, solution concentration, and pressure have marked influences on the particle size (PS), and the PSD broadens with increasing PS. Mechanisms that control PS are explained in terms of liquid atomization, agglomeration of particles, volumetric expansion of solution in SC-CO2, and nucleation and growth processes of particles. The dependence of the PS on temperature is not clear from all of the experiments performed.

Fusariumhead blight (FHB) caused byFusarium graminearumis a devastating disease that results in extensive yield losses to wheat and barley. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing plasmid pRP22-GFP was constructed for monitoring the colonization of two biocontrol agents,Brevibacillus brevisZJY-116, on the spikes of barley and their effect on suppression of FHB. Survival and colonization of theBrevibacillus brevisZJY-1 andBacillus subtilisZJY-116 strains on spikes of barley were observed by tracking the bacterial transformants with GFP expression. Our field study revealed that plasmid pRP22-GFP was stably maintained in the bacterial strains without selective pressure. The retrieved GFP-tagged strains showed that the bacterial population fluctuation accorded with that of the rain events. Furthermore, both biocontrol strains gave significant protection against FHB on spikes of barley in fields. The greater suppression of barley FHB disease was resulted from the treatment of barley spikes with biocontrol agents before inoculation withF. graminearum.

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Shengmai Powder (SMP) in treating acute viral myocarditis objectively.Methods: One hundred and twenty-four patients with acute viral myocarditis were randomized into the treated group (SMG,n = 64) and the control group (CG,n = 60). Such myocardial nutrient medicine as ATP, CoA, Vit-C, were given to both groups. And to the treated group, 40 ml of Shengmai Injection per day was given intravenously for 2 weeks, which was followed by oral intake of Shengmai granule, one package three times daily for another 2 weeks in total. The same anti-arrhythmia agents were applied to both groups, and no fructose-1, 6-diphosphate (FDP) for either. Semi-quantitative scoring method was adopted to observe such symptoms as chest stuffiness, palpitation and chest pain before treatment and four weeks after treatment. Meanwhile, ECG, dynamic ECG by Holter monitor, left ventricular enddiastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), serum neutralizing antibody of virus Coxsackie B, cardiac troponin I (cTnl) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) were examined.Results: (1) Compared with the control group, more significant improvement was got in SMG in respects of chest stuffiness, palpitation, chest pain and arrhythmia (P<0.05 orP<0.01). (2) Negative converting rates of cTnl,cTnT in the two groups were 59.46% vs 35.48%, 68.75% vs 42.31% respectively (P<0.05). (3) LVEDD before and after treatment in SMG was 52. 44 ± 3. 40 mm and 48. 81 ± 2. 23mm respectively, while that in the control group was 52.31 ± 3. 74 mm and 49. 92 ± 2. 67mm respectively; LVEF before and after treatment in SMG was 60.67 ± 4.62% and 65. 02 ± 4.16% respectively, while that in the control group was 60. 91± 4.26% and 63.67 ± 3.17%. There was obvious improvement in the two parameters in both groups, but the improvement in SMG was superior to that in the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion: SMP shows a good effect in improving clinical symptoms and signs, heart function, abnormal ECG and inflammatory injury indexes in patients with acute viral myocarditis.

Abstract.: Intra-abdominal abscesses are a frequent source of morbidity and mortality following both elective and emergent surgery of the alimentary tract. CT-guided percutaneous drainage of intra-abdominal abscess is an alternative to immediate surgical intervention. We studied the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous drainage of intra-abdominal abscesses arising after elective colorectal procedures. We retrospectively identified 40 patients with postoperative intraabdominal abscess following elective colorectal surgery who underwent CT-guided percutaneous drainage with a Von Sonnenberg sump drain between 1990 and 1998. The most common presenting symptoms were pyrexia in 39 (97%), abdominal tenderness in 32 (80%), guarding in 1 (2.5%) and abdominal mass in 3 (7.5%); no patient had generalized peritonitis. The most common index procedure was proctocolectomy with ileoanal anastomosis and ileal Jpouch in 12 (30%) patients. Drainage was performed using an anterior approach in 32 (80%) and a transgluteal window in 8 (20%) patients. Thirty-five (87.5%) patients had a single collection, while 2 (5.0%) patients had 2 collections and 3 (7.5%) patients had 3 collections. Thirteen (32.5%) patients had perioperative steroids, 30 (75%) had preoperative antibiotics, and 40 (100%) had postoperative antibiotics. Follow-up at a mean of 35.8 days revealed complete resolution of abscess in 26 (65%) patients; 14 (35%) patients had residual or recurrent abscess successfully treated by repeat drainage in 8 patients and requiring laparotomy in 6. Percutaneous CT-guided abscess drainage is an effective method for treating intra-abdominal abscess following elective colorectal surgery. The primary success was 65% after the first and 85% after a second drainage. In conclusion, this technique should be considered as the treatment of choice in patients with localized intra-abdominal abscess without signs of generalized peritonitis.

The effects of pre-treatment of TiO2photocatalyst on gas-phase degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) and ethyl alcohol (EtOH) were studied, by using a batch reactor. Pre-illumination of the photocatalyst with black-light fluorescent lamps accelerated the photocatalytic degradation of both TCE and EtOH. When the photocatalytic degradation of TCE was repeated immediately after the degradation of TCE (the first reaction), the degradation in the second reaction proceeded faster than in the first reaction. The effects were presumed to be due to the intermediates which would help the production of the chlorine radicals. Such effects weren’t observed in the photocatalytic degradation of EtOH.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether daily rapid intravenous administration of amino acids (IVAA) prevented the formation of biliary sludge in humans receiving long-term total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Thirty adult patients receiving TPN for more than 28 consecutive days were studied. They were randomized to receive either saline solution (placebo) intravenously (15 patients) or 6.9% branched chain amino acid (BCAA)-enriched amino acid (15 synthetic amino acids; Freamine HBC) solution given by administration rapid intravenous (15 patients). The groups were similar with respect to age, sex, diagnosis, liver function test results, amylase levels, TPN time, and time of study. All patients underwent weekly ultrasound studies. Volume and emptying studies of the gallbladder in response to the study drug were performed after 1 week. As a result, none of the patients receiving rapid IVAA had sludge, whereas 11 of the 15 patients receiving placebo had sludge (P < 0.01). Results of emptying studies showed significant contraction of the gallbladder in those in the rapid IVAA group, but not in the placebo group. Consequently, the data suggest that rapid IVAA given daily prevents TPN-induced stasis and sludge in the gallbladder. We conclude that rapid IVAA should be used as routine prophylaxis against biliary sludge and formation of gallstones in patients receiving long-term TPN.

Effective cooling structure design in the trailing edge (TE) of a high pressure turbine (HPT) blade is essential to increase turbine efficiency and maintain structural integrity. To obtain efficient cooling structures and understand clearly cooling mechanism, this paper adopted numerical simulation methods to investigate fluid flow and cooling characteristics in detail downstream of an HPT blade TE cutback region. The effects of typical TE configurations on cutback cooling performance are investigated including three types of internal turbulators (cylindrical pin fins and elliptic pin fins arranged in streamwise and spanwise orientations), the cutback with/without land extensions and three kinds of ejection lip profiles (one straight lip shape marked as “A” and two rounded lip shapes marked as “B” and “C,” respectively). The scale adaptive simulation (SAS) is implemented to study the complex unsteady mixing process downstream of the cutback under operating condition of blowing ratio M = 0.65. The results from the shear stress transport (SST) k–ω model are compared as well. SAS is capable to reproduce the periodical vortex shedding phenomena and resolve the vortices coherent structures. Compared with the experimental data, SAS provides more accurate predictions in terms of laterally averaged adiabatic cooling effectiveness ηaw and discharge coefficient Cd than the SST k–ω model. At the rear part of the cutback surface, large deterioration in ηaw is predicted by SAS for all configurations, but ηaw is considerably overpredicted by the SST k–ω model except for the case of elliptic pin fins with spanwise orientation. The elliptic pin fins with streamwise orientation significantly improve ηaw at the rear part of the cutback surface over the baseline model with cylindrical pin fins and slightly increase Cd. However, the elliptic pin fins with spanwise orientation drastically reduce the ηaw and Cd. Downstream of the cutback, the coherent structures are strongly disturbed and become chaotic compared with the TE with cylindrical and streamwise oriented elliptic pin fins. The application of land extensions only causes an evident change to the coherent structure immediate downstream of the lip and slightly improves ηaw and reduces Cd over the baseline model at the rear part of the cutback surface. Rounded lip shapes B and C also show an obvious increase in ηaw at the rear part of the cutback surface but only a minor increase in Cd compared with the straight lip shape A. The rounded lip helps the coolant diffuse into the TE cutback and reduce the intensity of mixing. Due to larger rounding radius of shape B, the cooling effectiveness predicted by shape B is slightly better than shape C.

Abstract: The general and simplified formula for anisotropic medium with a hyperbolic boundary subjected to pure bending Mo is provided in this paper. The stress and strain fields in medium are obtained. Based upon the above results, we analyse the hoop stress along the hyperbolic curve and the stress distributions on the planex2=0 for aluminium (cubic crystal). When the boundary curve degenerates into an external crack three kinds of stress intensity factors (k1, k2, k3) are obtained, and it is easily found that the first stress intensity factor k1 is independent of the material constants.

In this paper, it is pointed that the general expression for the stress function Φ0 of the plane problem in polar coordinates is incomplete. The problems of the curved bar with an arbitrary distributive load at the boundries can't be solved by this stress function. For this reason, we suggest two new stress functions and put them into the general expression. Then, the problems of the curved bar applied with an arbitrary distributive load at r=a, b boundaries can be solved. This is a new stress function including geometric boundary constants.

Abstract: «A general solutions for the stress and displacement of curve cracks distributing along a parabolic curve Ω in an infinite homogeneous anisotropic medium subjected to uniform loading at infinity have been given in this» paper by using the Stroh's formalism and the mapping method. The solutions are valid not only for plane problems but also for antiplane problems and the problems whose inplane and antiplane deformations couple each other. A closed form solution for the stress and displacement in the entire domain is obtained for one curve crack or two curve cracks along the parabolic curve. The simple explicit form solution for the stress intensity factors and the crack opening displacement are presented.

Abstract: Coupled relations among temperature, phase transformation and stress have been discussed here in the present paper. Thermo-elasto-plastic constitutive equations including creep and iterative finite element formulation during continuous casting with phase change have also been presented.

Abstract: In this paper, the problem of 3-D steady heat conduction including the influence of phase change on billets is turned into the 2-D transient problem by a suitable transformation technique. The effective specific heat has been employed to substitute for the effect of the phase change. The computational formulation of finite element has been presented. And the careful disposal of the phase change region has also been given.

Abstract: In this paper, from the fundamental equations of three dimensional elastic mechanics, we have found a sequence of asymptotic solving equations of thick ring shell (or body) applied arbitrary loads by the perturbation method based upon a geometric small parameter a=ro/Ro, which may be divided into two independent equation groups which are similar to the equation groups for plane strain and torsional problems. Using these equations, we have also found first order and second order approximate solutions of thick ring shell applied moment Mo.

Abstract: In the present paper, two-dimensional deformation problems of an anisotropic body with a parabolic boundary are systematically analysed by using Lekhnitskii’s formalism and the mapping functions method, then a special structure—the half-infinite crack problem is studied through the obtained results, the singular fields and the stress intensity factors near the crack tip are also obtained.

Summary: 20 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus have been grafted with short-term cultured islet tissue of several fetal pancreases intramuscularly (7 cases) and intraperitoneally (13 cases). After transplantation, all of them took specially prepared traditional Chinese medicine daily and except 7 recipients one dose of antihuman thymocyte globulin as immunosuppressive therapy. Before transplantation, their daily insulin requirements ranged from 40 to 84 u but diabetes was mostly not well controlled. After transplantation, all but one recipients had good transplanting effect. The daily insulin requirements of these 19 efficiently transplanted diabetics had been reduced by 30–90 % in comparison with those before transplantation, in 13 of which the daily insulin requirements had been reduced by more than 50% (5 cases more than 80 %), while their fasting plasma glucose levels, except a few, remained normal or even subnormal. In some patients the postprandial plasma glucose levels remained less than 150 mg/d1. 2 patients had become noninsulin-dependent for a short time. 19 successfully transplanted diabetics have been followed up for 2 –11 months after transplantation, and their islet grafts are all working well without any sign of rejection.

This article reports the relationship between immunological genetic factor and the familial occurrence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by using HLA as marker of inheritance. 42 subjects (26 males, 16 females) of 6 families were investigated. 19 of them were found to have hypertrophie cardiomyopathy (obstructive 11, non-obstructive 8) confirmed by echocardiogram, with ages ranging from 29–68 years (average 43 years). HLA of the same subjects were studied, 4 families provided information of transmission by HLA antigens, and at least 2 family members were affected by hypertrophie cardiomyopathy. According to the HLA haplotype analysis in affected siblings, [the HLA haplotype of their parents has been shown to be nonrandom in distribution (x2= 4.35,P< 0.05). Thus, there is certain correlation between the HLA haplotype and hypertrophie cardiomyopathy. Our findings show that genetic and familial factors may play an important role in the occurrence of the disease. Whether some HLA haplotype could afford some clue for the early diagnosis of this disease remains to be further investigated.