Search

Duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV) is an infectious disease that emerged in China in 2010. It has caused serious economic losses to the poultry industry and may pose a threat to public health. We aimed to develop a new Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis)-based oral vaccine to control DTMUV transmission among poultry; to this end, we constructed a B. subtilis strain that can secrete DTMUV E protein. Ducklings were orally immunized, and serum antibodies, mucosal antibodies, and splenic cytokines were detected. The results showed that, in addition to high levels of specific IgG, there were also high levels of specific secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in ducklings orally treated with recombinant B. subtilis. In addition, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 in spleens were significantly boosted by recombinant B. subtilis. Recombinant B. subtilis could effectively enhance ducklings resistance to DTMUV and significantly reduce viral load (p <0.01), along with pathological damage in the brain, heart, and spleen. This is the first study to apply a B. subtilis live-vector vaccine platform for DTMUV disease prevention and control, and our results suggest that B. subtilis expressing DTMUV E protein may be a candidate vaccine against DTMUV. • A recombinant Bacillus subtilis expressing Duck Tembusu virus E protein was constructed. • Recombinant Bacillus subtilis induces high levels of intestinal specific sIgA. • Recombinant Bacillus subtilis can activate humoral and cellular immunity. • Recombinant Bacillus subtilis can reduce brain, heart, and spleen damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coupled total Lagrangian (TL) and weakly compressible (WC) smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is presented to model three-dimensional fluid–structure interactions (FSI) with deformable structures. In the coupled TL–WC SPH, the fluid phase is simulated using WCSPH, while the structure solver is based on TLSPH. The three main deficiencies of solid simulation using conventional SPH, i.e. inconsistency, tensile instability and hourglass mode are circumvented in the stabilized TLSPH by means of corrected kernel gradient, Lagrangian kernel function and hourglass control technique, respectively. The resulted stabilized TLSPH is stable, accurate and has almost quadratic convergence rate in solid modeling. To increase the accuracy in FSI modeling, the δ − SPH technique is employed to improve the pressure results in the fluid phase. Based on the Adami boundary condition (Adami et al., 2012), a unified framework for modeling solid boundaries and the fluid–structure interfaces is presented. Furthermore, the GPU parallelization is employed to accelerate the proposed TL–WC SPH method for higher efficiency. The coupled method is employed to simulate problems of pure fluid flow, elastic solids with large deformation and fluid–structure interaction with deformable structures. The numerical results are compared with analytical solutions and results from literature. The GPU efficiency and speed-up compared with CPU implementations are analyzed. The novelty of this work consists: (1) three-dimensional SPH modeling of FSI problems with deformable structures, (2) stabilized structure simulation free of hourglass mode, (3) a unified framework for FSI problems taking advantages of δ -SPH, TLSPH, hourglass control, and GPU acceleration. Importantly, with the hourglass control technique proposed by Ganzenmüller (2015), stresses can be captured accurately in the TL–WC SPH-based FSI simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, chatter has become the critical factor in hindering machining quality and productivity in machining processes. To avoid cutting chatter, a new method based on dynamic cutting force simulation model and support vector machine (SVM) is presented for the prediction of chatter stability lobes. The cutting force is selected as the monitoring signal, and the wavelet energy entropy theory is used to extract the feature vectors. A support vector machine is constructed using the MATLAB LIBSVM toolbox for pattern classification based on the feature vectors derived from the experimental cutting data. Then combining with the dynamic cutting force simulation model, the stability lobes diagram (SLD) can be estimated. Finally, the predicted results are compared with existing methods such as zero-order analytical (ZOA) and semi-discretization (SD) method as well as actual cutting experimental results to confirm the validity of this new method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One-dimensional Ca4Y6(SiO4)6O: Ln3+ (Ln=Eu, Tb) microfibers were fabricated by a simple and cost-effective electrospinning method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) confirmed that the fibers were composed of hexagonal Ca4Y6(SiO4)6O phase. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC) results showed that the Ca4Y6(SiO4)6O phase began to crystallize at 740°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results indicated that the diameter of as-prepared microfibers ranged from 390 to 900nm and the diameter of the microfibers annealed at 1000°C ranged from to 120 to 260nm. Under ultraviolet and low-voltage electron beams (3–5kV) excitation, the Ca4Y6(SiO4)6O: Ln3+ (Ln=Eu, Tb) samples showed the red and green emission, corresponding to 5D0 → 7F2 transition of Eu3+ and 5D4 → 7F5 transition of Tb3+, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The Ni particle size of Ni/AlSBA-15 can be tuned by adjusting the Al content. • Semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene (PA) over Ni/AlSBA-15 is structure-sensitive. • NiZn and NiGa alloys were formed on AlSBA-15 supported bimetallic catalysts. • NiZn 3 /AlSBA-15 showed 90.3% selectivity to styrene at nearly 100% conversion of PA. • NiZn 3 /AlSBA-15 displayed stable activity and selectivity over 100 h on-stream. Abstract A series of nonprecious monometallic Ni/AlSBA-15 and bimetallic Ni M (M = Zn, Ga, Cu, or Fe)/AlSBA-15 catalysts were prepared using a urea precipitation method and applied to the semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene. The catalysts were characterized by various techniques, showing that the Ni particle size of catalyst can be tuned by adjusting the Al content, and NiZn and NiGa supported catalysts exhibited geometric and electronic effects that originated from the bimetallic alloy. Among all the catalysts studied, NiZn 3 /AlSBA-15, with a turnover frequency of 10.89 s−1 comparable to that of precious Pd-based catalysts, presented the highest selectivity to styrene (90.3%) at nearly 100% conversion of phenylacetylene in semibatch operation. This catalyst was further evaluated in a continuous fixed-bed reactor for semihydrogenation of a model C 8 aromatic fraction of pyrolysis gasoline (a mixture of phenylacetylene, styrene, ethylbenzene and xylene), which aimed at assessing its practical application of recovering styrene from pyrolysis gasoline. The results showed that at complete conversion of phenylacetylene, the styrene concentration in the product was always kept at a stable level and higher than its initial concentration over 100 h of time on stream, demonstrating high selectivity and good stability of NiZn 3 /AlSBA-15. Finally, the application of NiZn 3 /AlSBA-15 was extended to other phenylacetylene derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the utilization efficiency of noble metals by the synergy with less expensive metals is an important yet challenging issue in heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, exemplified with Pt-catalyzed hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane, partial substitution of the Pt catalysts by over 11 times less expensive Ru is studied to obtain highly efficient and cost-effective Pt-based catalysts. It is observed that the Pt-Ru bimetallic catalysts, especially Pt 0.5 Ru 0.5 /CNT, deliver higher hydrogen generation activity and durability than the Pt/CNT and Ru/CNT catalysts, indicating a remarkable Pt-Ru synergy. The underlying nature of this synergy is elucidated by combining kinetic and isotopic analyses with multiple techniques such as HAADF-STEM, EDX, XRD, H 2 -TPR, HRTEM, XPS and ICP-AES. The appropriate activation energy and entropy of activation for the reaction are mainly responsible for the highly active Pt 0.5 Ru 0.5 /CNT catalyst, and a volcano-shaped relationship for the reactivity of these five catalysts as a function of entropy of activation is proposed. The insights revealed here might guide the rational design of catalysts for this reaction, and the methodology could be extended to unravel the nature of other bi- or multi-metallic catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Herein, a facile green synthetic protocol for nanoporous NiFe-LDH/MoO x /BiVO 4 had been established via an electrochemical deposition method for enhanced photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) performance. The rational design of nanoporous NiFe-LDH/MoO x /BiVO 4 played a vital role in improving the photocurrent density and achieving 2.7 mA /cm2 at 1.23 V RHE (3.9 - fold higher than BiVO 4) with a negative onset potential of 267 mV offset. Moreover, the holes were efficiently consumed for water splitting through the cyclic reaction of NiFe-LDH layer. Thus, the nanoporous NiFe-LDH/MoO x /BiVO 4 photoanode dramatically improved bulk charge transfer efficiency and surface charge injection efficiency reaching nearly 50% and 95% at 1.23 V RHE , respectively. In addition, the accumulated charge test proved that Mo oxide had the function of transferring holes. And the highest photovoltage and lowest charge recombination kinetics of composite photoanode also presented that the oxide species of Mo and NiFe-LDH had the properties of a passivation layer which were characterized by OCP (Open Circuit Potential) and IMPS (Intensity Modulated Photocurrent Spectroscopy) test. The excellent photocurrent density and facile layer-by-layer synthesis of NiFe-LDH/MoO x /BiVO 4 nanocomposite made it a promising photocatalytic material for practical applications. This newly designed strategy was anticipated to be applied in future promising photoanodes for PEC water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The surgical management of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in older children has been the subject of controversy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome in patients with neglected DDH who underwent individual procedures based on using three-dimensional computed tomography. Methods: Forty-seven patients (59 hips) were treated using Pemberton osteotomy or Dega plus Pemberton osteotomy. Subtrochanteric transverse femoral shortening and derotation osteotomy were performed for all patients. The average age at the time of surgery was 10.5 y for group 1 (bilateral dislocation, 24 hips) and 11.2 y for group 2 (unilateral dislocation, 35 hips). Mean follow-up was 5.3 y for group 1 and 5.8 y for group 2. Results: At the end of follow-up, 13 hips (54.2%) were rated excellent, eight hips (33.3%) were good, and three hips (12.5%) were fair in group 1. In group 2, 20 hips (57.1%) were rated excellent, 10 hips (28.6%) were good, and five hips (14.3%) were fair. There were five patients who had a limb length discrepancy of approximately 1.5 cm in group 2. Six hips in group 1 and seven hips in group 2 had osteonecrosis of varying severity. Conclusions: We believe that preoperation three-dimensional computed tomography evaluation, personalized operation plans, and experience with the surgical procedure are the main reasons for the satisfactory therapeutic effects achieved in this study in older children with DDH. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nearly monodisperse, homogeneous and well-defined one-dimensional Tb(1− x )(OH)3:xEu3+ (x=0–3mol%) nanorods have been prepared through hydrothermal method. The size of the Tb(OH)3:Eu3+ rods could be modulated from nano- to micro-scale by using different amount of ammonia solution. They present highly crystallinity in spite of the moderate reaction temperature. Under ultraviolet excitation into the f→f transition of Tb3+ at 382nm, Tb(OH)3 samples show the characteristic emission of Tb3+ corresponding to 5D4→7F6, 5, 4, 3 transitions; whereas Tb(OH)3:Eu3+ samples mainly exhibit the characteristic emission of Eu3+ corresponding to 5D0→7F1, 2, 4 transitions due to an efficient energy transfer occurs from Tb3+ to Eu3+. The increase of Eu3+ concentration leads to the increase of the energy transfer efficiency from Tb3+ to Eu3+. The PL colors of Tb(OH)3:xEu3+ phosphors can be easily tuned from green, yellow, orange, to red by changing the doping concentration (x) of Eu3+. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The PDDA and PVP co-functionalized CNT has been developed to support Pt catalyst. • A combined kinetics analysis, DFT calculations with multiple characterizations is conducted. • The co-functionalization improves the quantity (N i) and quality (TOF i) of Pt active sites. • The catalyst exhibits significantly enhanced H 2 generation activity and durability. Decorating the catalyst support with organic moieties to integrate multiple functionalities into metal particles offers a unique platform to promote the catalytic performance. Here, we report a mechanism-driven strategy to functionalize CNT with dual polymers, endowing the supported Pt catalyst with simultaneously enhanced hydrogen generation activity and durability. Kinetics analysis, multiple characterization and DFT calculations reveal that the PDDA acts as electron-acceptor to capture electrons from the Pt particles toward strengthened adsorption of reactants, while the PVP acts as structure-directing agent to induce the catalyst morphology evolution with a preferential exposure of Pt(1 1 1) active sites. Such electronic and geometric synergy by co-functionalizing PDDA and PVP gives rise to a 3-fold increase in the hydrogen generation activity, together with remarkably improved catalytic durability due to the suppressed adsorption of B(OH) 4 − over the Pt(1 1 1). The strategy reported here might shed new lights on establishing the functionalization protocols to design carbon supported metal catalysts with the targeted properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the growth of N-polar InGaN alloy films on high-quality N-polar GaN templates with smooth surface by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. In this work, we systematically investigate the influences of growth parameters, such as growth temperature, pressure, V/III source ratio and trimethylindium input flow on the crystalline and optical properties of N-polar InGaN films. It is found that the relatively high growth pressure can promote the incorporation of In atoms into InGaN films and improve the crystalline quality by enhancing the epitaxial lateral overgrowth without mask simultaneously. Also, relatively low growth temperature, small V/III ratio and large trimethylindium input flow are more effective ways to increase In content in the films. Besides, we find that a high growth temperature is beneficial to improve the optical properties of InGaN films. Finally, N-polar InGaN film with green-emitting at 530 nm is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prediction of the penetration of three-dimensional (3D) shaped charge into steel plates is a challenging task. In this paper, the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is applied to simulate the jet formation generated by the shaped charge detonation and its damage to steel plates. The Jones–Wilkins–Lee (JWL) equation of state (EOS), Tillotson EOS, and elastic–perfectly plastic constitutive model were incorporated into SPH for the modeling of explosive detonation and dynamic behavior of metal material. The compute unified device architecture (CUDA) parallel programming interface has been employed in SPH to improve the computational efficiency of SPH. Firstly, the constitutive models and EOSs are validated by 3D TNT slab detonation and aluminum–aluminum (Al–Al) high velocity impact. Then the jet formation of the shaped charge detonation and its penetration into the steel plates are investigated using the graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated SPH methodology. The numerical results of these test cases are compared against the published experimental data or analytical result, which shows that the GPU-accelerated SPH methodology is capable of tackling the 3D shaped charge detonation and penetration involving millions of particles with high computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]