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Understanding the fluid flow and heat transfer process in the well-fracture-reservoir combined system is crucial for the development of Enhanced or Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS). In this paper, a well-fracture-reservoir integrated numerical model is developed to study the heat extraction performance considering the interactions among the well boreholes, the fractures in the reservoir and the base rock reservoir itself. The wells and major fractures are precisely described by the direct modelling while the sub-fractures in the base rock are described by a permeability distribution. A novel method to improve the heat extraction performance of EGS by enhancing the permeability in the near-well region is proposed. Simulation results show that the fluid flow path is predominantly determined by the well layout and fracture network. The fluid pressure is non-linearly distributed between the injection and production wells in the fractures and reservoir. Further, an optimized scheme for heat extraction of an assumed geothermal site in Gonghe Basin is proposed based on the near-well enhancement approach. The overall heat extraction performance of the near-well enhanced case is improved by more than 15.0%. The present work provides a feasible improvement scheme for EGS to achieve a better heat extraction performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some studies and societal discussions have suggested a potential link between overweight and a higher risk of mental disorders and suicidal ideation. However, the causal relationships between these factors remain unclear. This study aims to assess the bidirectional causal associations between overweight and mental disorders, including suicidal attempts. We conducted a Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization study utilizing data from over 450,000 individuals of European ancestry sourced from a comprehensive Genome-Wide Association Study database. We chose single-nucleotide polymorphisms as instrumental variables. Our analyses consistently supported a unidirectional causal association of overweight with the increased risk of major depressive disorder (MDD, β = 0.152, se = 0.069, P = 0.027), bipolar affective disorders (BD, β = 0.197, se = 0.092, P = 0.033), and attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, β = 0.308, se = 0.080, P = 1.366 × 10−4). We observed no significant causal relationships for the exposure of overweight to anxiety disorder (AD), manic episode (MA), panic disorder (PD), schizophrenia (SZ), substance use disorder (SUD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ever attempted suicide, recent thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and suicide or other intentional self-harm events. This study has provided evidence for the causal relationship between overweight and MDD, BD, ADHD, with no observed relationship between overweight and AD, MA, PD, SZ, SUD, ASD, ever attempted suicide, recent thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and suicide or other intentional self-harm events. • The causal relationship between overweight and MDD, BD, and ADHD was confirmed. • No causal relationship of overweight was found with other mentioned mental disorders. • Our study found no causal association between overweight and suicidal attempts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboline alkaloids are a class of important heterocyclic natural products, which usually present extensive bioactivities. During the course of our research for active compounds from natural products, the pityriacitrin and pityriacitrin B belonged carboline alkaloids have been isolated from a Chinese Burkholderia sp. NBF227, which indicated potential antifungal activities. So, in order to develop these carboline alkaloids as potential fungicidal agents, a series of pityriacitrin derivatives were investigated for their antifungal activities against Phytophthora capsici , Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solani , and the results demonstrated that compounds 4 , 10 and 19 displayed broad-spectrum antifungal activities. In addition, in vivo bioassay also indicated that compounds 4 and 10 could protect the pepper leaves and grape fruits against infection by P. capsici and B. cinerea , respectively. The possible mechanism of antifungal action for these compounds was also explored. [Display omitted] • Carboline derivatives displayed broad-spectrum in vitro fungicidal activities. • Compounds 4 and 10 could protect the pepper leaves against infection by P. capsici. • Compounds 4 could protect the grape fruits against infection by B. cinerea. • The possible mechanism of antifungal action for compound 4 has also been explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• C. subvermispora modification mechanism of corn stover was studied. • Tendency of lignocellulose degradation changed during C. subvermispora modification. • C. subvermispora modification for 15 d increased methane yield of corn stover by 15.2%. • Selective delignification was highly correlated to methane yield of corn stover. Ceriporiopsis subvermispora was used to modify corn stover for improving the biodegradability and biomethane yield. Corn stover was incubated with C. subvermispora for 5–90 days then anaerobically digested. It was found that the corn stover modified for 15 days achieved the highest biomethane yield of 235 mL·g−1 VS, which was an increase of 15.2% over that of the non-modified one. The mechanism analyses indicated that the improvement resulted from the combined roles of degradation selectivity, destruction of lignocellulosic structures, and linkages. The analyses showed that C. subvermispora has a high relative selectivity of lignin degradation. The structure of the lignin and the linkages among lignin and hemicellulose and cellulose were broken obviously by acetyl group removal, and the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose was increased by 35.61%. The finding indicated that C. subvermispora modification is one of the effective methods for enhancing biomethane yield of corn stover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Existing hot dry rock geothermal projects are commonly confronted with some technical issues, such as corrosion and scaling, and water loss. To resolve these issues, the present work proposes a novel system for mining hot dry rock geothermal energy, in which a reservoir is combined with a heat pipe system. The new system encompasses a heat pipe placed in a single-well to extract hot dry rock geothermal energy, while an artificial reservoir is built around the main endothermic region of the well, which is permeable and saturated with carbon dioxide (CO 2). This wellbore structure design may stimulate a stronger natural convection in the reservoir, resulting in a higher thermal power production. To evaluate the proposed system, an extensive numerical investigation was conducted. The comparison of the proposed system with the conventional downhole heat exchanger (DHE) system in terms of heat extraction performance indicates clear superiority of the proposed system primarily due to the associated thermosyphon effect of CO 2 fluid in the reservoir. To better understand how operating and design variables affect the heat extraction performance of the system, a detailed sensitivity analysis was conducted taking into consideration a wide range of possible configurations and working conditions. The eventually obtained knowledge will guide the design of the system in practice. Highlights • We propose a novel downhole heat exchanger system for mining geothermal energy. • The system encompasses a closed-cycle downhole heat exchanger with a heat pipe. • An artificial reservoir saturated with CO 2 is around the main endothermic region. • Numerical study indicates clear superiority of the proposed system. • A detailed sensitivity analysis obtains knowledge for the design of this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two-equation thermal model could be an effective method for the simulation of thermal-hydrodynamic process in industry-scale EGS heat reservoirs. The conventional way of computing the heat transfer rate between rock and fluid in the two-equation model is using Newton’s law of cooling with a constant equivalent solid-fluid heat transfer coefficient. However, the present work reveals that this method is unable to precisely simulate EGS heat extraction, in which the thermal resistance of solid plays an important role and the temperature of fluid is in rapid changing. Instead, we propose an analytical method to determine the heat transfer rate between rock and fluid, in which variations of fluid and rock temperatures are adequately considered. Simulation cases with different meshes or using different thermal models corroborate that the proposed method improves the prediction accuracy of the two-equation model and makes the model to be more applicable for industrial-scale EGS simulations as a larger mesh size is allowed to be used in the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong heterogeneity does exist in engineered heat reservoirs of enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs) due to different rock formation, pre-existence of natural fractures and uncertainties associated with the stimulation processes. Exploring the influence of reservoir heterogeneity on EGS heat extraction is of considerable importance to predict and fully evaluate the performance of EGSs. In this work, we take the reservoir as equivalent to a porous medium and employ a previously self-developed numerical model to conduct a series of simulations of the long-term heat extraction process of EGSs with different reservoir porosity distributions. Based on a detailed analysis to the effects of fluid seepage flow field on the heat extraction performance, we establish a method to quantify the heat extraction performance of EGSs with heterogeneous reservoirs using the seepage distribution data. We numerically test this method by taking a wide variety of heterogeneous reservoirs for EGSs. The method proves to have the capability of predicting the heat extraction performance of EGSs with miscellaneous heterogeneous reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the rain-flow counting technique, a frequency domain method is developed for calculating the fatigue damages caused by the combined loads, which can be linear or nonlinear and Gaussian or non-Gaussian loads. Firstly, the new method is developed for the fatigue damage estimates of the combination of high and low frequency Gaussian loads, by which the ranges of the small rain-flow cycles are obtained as high frequency cycles with considering the reduction effect of low frequency loads on them; the ranges of the large rain-flow cycles are determined by means of Turkstra's rule of load combination. Secondly, the method is extended to calculate the fatigue damages caused by the nonlinear Morison load which is the combination of linear inertial and nonlinear drag forces. The method is benchmarked against the rain-flow damage estimates and compared with the existing ones. The numerical analyses show that the damages estimated by the new method are close to the rain-flow damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, it was reported a novel method of deep geothermal energy exploitation by using the super-long gravity heat pipe (SLGHP) in a single-well geothermal system. However, the low heat transfer rate from the geothermal formation outside the heat pipe is one main factor limiting the heat extraction rate of the SLGHP system. In this respect, the concept of a novel enhanced super-long heat pipe system (ESLHPS) is proposed, which encompasses a super-long gravity heat pipe and a heat transfer enhanced region. The heat transfer enhanced region, built around the evaporation section of the heat pipe, features near-well fracture reservoir filled with high thermal conductivity phase change composite. The phase change composite remains as a semiliquid mixture during operation, eliminating the thermal contact resistance between the heat pipe and the reservoir. To evaluate the thermal performance of the proposed system, it is employed a numerical model, and the key parameters including those of the heat transfer enhanced region are carefully analyzed. In addition, an insulation layer is set around the heat pipe to make a specific adiabatic section. It is found that the heat transfer enhanced region can significantly improve the thermal performance of the SLGHP system. The overall thermal performance of ESLHPS is found to be dependent on the thermal conductivity, length and radius of the heat transfer enhanced region. The insulation layer can effectively reduce the heat loss of ESLHPS, and the thermal insulation shows the best performance when its length just equals the length of heat pipe minus the optimum length of the heat transfer enhanced region. In addition, the design procedure for the ESLHPS is also proposed, and it leads to a realistic strategy for the design of single-well SLGHP geothermal systems. The results obtained in this study under idealized conditions offer guidance towards the optimization of the system design. • A novel enhanced super-long heat pipe system (ESLHPS) is proposed. • The ESLHPS has a near-well reservoir filled with phase change composite. • Thermal performance of geothermal heat pipe system is significantly improved. • Main parameters influencing the performance of ESLHPS are analyzed. • The procedure to design single-well SLHP geothermal systems is proposed. These findings indicate that L en is an important factor in what concerns the ESLHPS thermal performance. The ideal value of L en changes with the operation time; consequently, to maintain an adequate thermal performance of ESLHPS, with a reasonable value of L en , it is also desirable having an appropriate value of r en. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work reports on the development of a three-dimensional transient model, which describes the multi-physical coupling of thermal (T), hydraulic (H), and mechanical (M) processes during heat extraction of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The model encompasses: (1) local thermal non-equilibrium to formulate the convective heat exchange between rock matrix and heat transfer fluid in the reservoir, (2) sub-modules describing temperature- and pressure-dependent thermophysical properties of water, and (3) a thermo-poroelastic model, which is used to calculate the effective stress in the rock matrix and to determine the time-changing local porosity and permeability in the reservoir. Analyses for an idealized EGS indicate that an increased effective stress in the rock matrix yields significant mechanical effects upon the EGS heat extraction performance, namely: for a given injection pressure the mass flow rate of fluid is enhanced, leading to improved heat extraction, while the life expectancy of the EGS is shortened. It is found from additional simulations that: (1) a decrease in injection temperature and an increase in injection pressure can lead to an increase at the magnitude of the negative effective stress, which, in turn, can enlarge the porosity and permeability in the heat reservoir, and (2) a smaller value of ha reduces the heat exchange between the rock and the fluid as it reduces the magnitude of the effective stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermophysical properties of heat transfer fluid may experience significant changes during heat extraction process in enhanced geothermal system (EGS). The present work extends a previous EGS model by implementing pressure- and temperature-dependent thermophysical properties of real water and super-critical carbon dioxide (SCCO 2 ), and employed the new model to simulate the long-term heat extraction processes of water-EGS and SCCO 2 -EGS. Comparison between the model results finds at a given fluid injection pressure, the lifetime of water-EGS is longer than that of SCCO 2 -EGS while the heat extraction rate of the latter is higher than the former, leading to approximately the same cumulative heat extraction amount at the end of EGS operation. Relative to water, larger density-temperature dependence of SCCO 2 leads to stronger natural convection of fluid flow in EGS reservoir and makes the heat extraction process of SCCO 2 -EGS more prefers to perform in the reservoir bottom region. The natural convection flow in the reservoir of SCCO 2 -EGS is found to be relatively stronger if the reservoir permeability is smaller, the fluid injection pressure is lower, or the reservoir is of a larger volume. Simulations with respect to two groups of cases, one of which consists of water-based heat transfer fluids and the other SCCO 2 -based fluids, comprehensively reveal variable thermophysical property effects on EGS heat extraction. The production performance of SCCO 2 -EGS is generally more sensitive to the variation of fluid thermophysical properties; for both water- and SCCO 2 -EGS, the net electric power output is positively related with the density and specific heat capacity of fluid, and negatively related with the viscosity of fluid, whereas the thermal conductivity of fluid has little effect on the net electric power output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Draught has been observed to have an effect on human thermal comfort and induce upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), which indicates that it may reduce immunity against respiratory diseases. This study aims to explore the relationship between thermal comfort and respiratory immunity in an air-conditioned environment. Eleven tests were conducted using supply air temperature of 24 °C and supply air velocity of 1 m/s in an environmental chamber. Secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and lysozyme were selected as immune biomarkers, and subjective questionnaires concerning thermal sensation vote and thermal comfort vote (TSV and TCV), draught vote (DV), and air movement acceptability were collected after airflow intervention. The symptoms of URTI were also assessed. The results showed that the lysozyme concentration decreased significantly from 835.01 to 434.16 ng/ml after the tests were conducted (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the lysozyme concentration after the tests showed a significant positive correlation with TSV (Rs = 0.527, p < 0.05). The colder the subjects felt, the greater the decrease in the lysozyme change rate. There was no correlation between SIgA and TSV after the tests (p > 0.05). This study revealed that staying in comfortable conditions contributes to a high level of respiratory immunity. • SIgA and lysozyme fight pathogenic microorganisms, and are critical for mucosal immunity. • Draught affects secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and lysozyme levels. • The lysozyme concentration after airflow intervention is correlated to the thermal sensation vote. • The closer the thermal sensation is to the thermal neutral zone, the less the immune levels decline. • Staying in comfortable conditions contributes to high levels of respiratory immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel technical scheme of extracting the deep-earth hot dry rock heat by a super-long gravity heat pipe (SLGHP) system in a single-well has aroused widespread interest in the geothermal energy research and engineering community. Due to the unique characteristic of the SLGHP, i.e. the extremely large length-to-diameter ratio, the effect of working fluid on its thermal performance is different from that for the normal heat pipes, thus requiring careful evaluation in the working fluid selection. However, there is no unified evaluation standard, and consequently, it is not available an efficient preferred route for the working fluid selection. The present work proposes a selection criterion to guide the fast screening of the potential candidates for SLGHP working fluid. For this criterion, the temperature gradient of the working fluid along the SLGHP in operation is adopted as an index to evaluate the effect of working fluid on the SLGHP thermal performance. The thermal performance of SLGHP using several typical working fluids is also evaluated via numerical simulation. Comparison between the numerical predictions and the fast-screening evaluations presents good consistency, indicating the validity of the proposed working fluid selection criterion. Both approaches reveal that ammonia would be preferable to water and methanol as the SLGHP working fluid for low source (hot dry rock) temperature and small diameter heat pipe; while water would be the best choice when the source temperature is high and the heat pipe has a large diameter. This selection criterion can act as a convenient and reliable tool for the decision process on the best-suited working fluid for an SLGHP tailored for actual geothermal energy exploitation use. • A criterion for heat pipe working fluid rapid and efficient screening is proposed. • Thermal performance of heat pipe using several typical working fluids is studied. • Numerical study testifies the validity of the working fluid selection criterion. • Ammonia is better-suited for low source temperature and small diameter heat pipe. • Water is the best if source temperature is high and heat pipe has a large diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracting hot dry rock energy by super-long gravity heat pipe in a single-well is a novel technical scheme proposed recently. The potential superiority of this scheme is related to its environmental friendliness, economic and technologic feasibility, but the key parameters affecting its performance are not well understood. To this purpose, a detailed sensitivity analysis using a dedicated numerical simulation model is conducted for a 4000 m long gravity heat pipe with water as the working fluid. The analysis considers a wide range of working conditions with the aim of better understanding the effects of operating and structural design variables. It is found that the thermal performance is strongly enhanced with the increasing heat pipe diameter (100 mm–500 mm), which is attributed not only to the increase of heat transfer surface but also to the decrease of fluid flow resistance inside the heat pipe. Lowering the condensation temperature improves the thermal performance of heat pipe, whereas the effect gradually reduces and becomes insignificant when the condensation temperature is less than ∼50 °C. Thermal insulation shows the best positive effect when the insulation section reaches the position where the heat pipe temperature is just equal to the formation temperature. The low thermal conductivity of hot dry rock is confirmed to be a key bottleneck restraining the performance of the heat pipe system. The heat extraction rate can be greatly improved if the local equivalent thermal conductivity is enhanced in the region of 5 m in radius around the heat pipe. The acquired knowledge allows to develop a design strategy for practical super-long heat pipe systems taking into consideration the operating parameters and local geothermal conditions. • Using 4000 m super-long gravity heat pipe to extract hot dry rock heat is analyzed. • Effect of operating and structural design variables is numerically studied. • Results offer insights into the design of super-long gravity heat pipe system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Insert an ultrathin insulating layer at the organic/metal interface is a promising way to increase the device efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Here we have fabricated OLEDs, which were sandwich structure with Al/poly [9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-4,7-di-2-thienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole] (PFO-DBT15)/PEDOT/indium tin oxide (ITO) OLEDs, with and without ultrathin CsF buffer layer at the organic/metal interface. Special attention was paid to polymer/electrode interface modification. Transport of carriers in copolymer with and without CsF buffer layer was investigated by means of admittance spectroscopy, respectively. We compare the charge-carrier mobilities of double-carrier (with Al/CsF cathode) and hole-only (with Al cathode) devices. CsF buffer layer is shown to significantly influence the electron mobilities while the hole mobilities are left unchanged and thereby carrying out a better balance of carrier in the device. The diffusion of CsF from electrode into copolymer is clearly observed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer, which resulting in enhance electric injection and improve the carrier balance in a double carrier device. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have fabricated hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells with blends of MEH-PPV (poly[2-methoxy,5-(2-ethylhexoxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene]) and nano-CdS as electron donor and electron acceptor, respectively. The effect of thermal annealing was investigated with impedance spectroscopy (IS) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristic measurements on devices. The IS and C–V characteristic manifested very different before and after thermal annealing. We performed equivalent circuit to explain the effect of thermal annealing. The thermal treatment of nanocrystal–polymer films is seen to aid in the formation of a continuous network for electron transport between nanorods, and hence improves devices performance. The method based on the IS is available to probe the microstructure of hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells before and after thermal annealing, and therefore detect the mechanism for the annealing improvements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent theoretical studies dealing with the novel scheme for earth-deep hot dry rock geothermal energy extraction based on the use of a super-long heat pipe indicate its superior technical viability. The present work reports on a field test using a 3000-m heat pipe to extract hot dry rock geothermal energy conducted with the aim of demonstrating its practical feasibility. The in-house developed heat pipe uses deionized water as working fluid and produces steam with a maximum temperature of ∼90 °C, when the average underground formation temperature around the subsurface heat pipe is 95.6 °C. During the 30-day continuous heat mining process, the heat extraction rate achieved an average value of 190 kW with no obvious downward trend. After one month of continuous heat production, a one-week heat recovery can restore the system temperature to just slightly lower than the initial value. The thermal response of the system to different condensing temperatures was also tested. The results show that the heat extraction rate can be increased by decreasing the condensing temperature, but this improvement is insignificant when the condensing temperature is 55 °C or lower. Furthermore, the experimental results show overall good agreement with the model predictions, which indicates that the heat pipe is performing close to the desired operating conditions considered in the simulation model, in particular: no liquid accumulation, no local dry-out, and no vapor-liquid entrainment. This performance is a major departure from that of the typical heat pipes, and it makes the super-long gravity heat pipe a leading technological candidate for earth-deep geothermal heat extraction. • The first successful case of using km-long heat pipe for geothermal exploitation. • The heat pipe is 3 km in length and in-house developed. • Experimental results corroborate the technical viability of the SLGHP system. • A numerical model is presented and validated against the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the prediction of extreme values of traffic loads and load effects of long span bridges. The traffic states are idealized a series of spatially stationary stochastic fields, which correspond to free, congested and full stop traffic states. For each traffic state, the Poisson point field is invoked to model the spatial distribution of vehicles. The vehicle density is then determined initially by the empirical formula based on microsimulation and modified further by a Poisson point model with a limited minimum space lag. With the modified vehicle density and influence functions of the bridge response, the expressions of the mean values and variances of the traffic loads or load effects are derived based on Poisson model, which are very simple compared with Ditlevsen' formulas. Because the bridge loads are the sum of a large number of independent vehicle weights, the normal distribution is a reasonable model for loads and load effects. Correspondingly, the long term characteristic values and distribution functions of traffic loads and load effects are estimated easily with the derived mean and variance. The numerical analyses show that all results calculated are very close to those by the popular microsimulation methods. Hence, an analytical method is developed for predicting the traffic loads and load effects, which can be easily used to develop a design code for a long span bridge. Moreover, the analytical method based on Poisson models incorporated with the normal distribution of loads or load effects would make it more easily combine the traffic loads with wave and wind loadings for a floating bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on three kinds of still-water load models, i.e. the Ferry Borges–Castanheta, Poisson and alternating renewal models, three methods of determining characteristic values of still-water loads for ocean-going ships have been established and evaluated. These models of still-water loads have been applied to establish models for combining still-water and wave loads, by which consistent combined characteristic values are predicted numerically. Based on the point-crossing method, an analytical formula for the combined characteristic value of still-water and wave loads for ocean-going ships is derived by adopting Poisson load models, the exponential peak distribution of wave loads and the minimum of Turkstra’s combination solutions. The numerical analyses show that the analytical formula developed has the same accuracy as the numerical methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A fuel cell is a promising energy conversion system that will eventually become the first-choice for producing power because of its clean or zero-emission nature. A steady-state, two-dimensional mathematical model with pressure and phase change effects for a single PEM fuel cell was developed to illustrate the inlet humidification and pressure effects on proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell performance. This model considers the transport of species along the channel as well as water transfer through the membrane. It can be used to predict trends of the following parameters along the fuel cell channels: mole number of liquid water and water vapor, pressure, temperature, density, viscosity, velocity, saturation pressure, pressure drop, vapor mole fraction, volume flow rate, required pumping power and current density. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to establish probabilistic models for still-water loads, based on design data, and the combined still-water and wave load effects for semi-probabilistic and probabilistic design of floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSO). A new still-water load model for FPSOs is proposed, based on a Poisson square-wave model, with a modified Weibull distribution for load intensity, which accounts for load control during operation. The long-term variation of wave-induced load effects is modelled by a Poisson square-wave process. A new solution for the combined effect is derived. A procedure for determining characteristic extreme values for individual and combined load effects, and load combination factors, is established. The methodology is used to illustrate load combination factors suitable for typical FPSOs. This approach is also shown to be useful in obtaining realistic load models, in terms of random variables, for use in reliability formulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous studies have shown that the high mortality caused by viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza virus primarily results from complications of a cytokine storm. Therefore, it is critical to identify the key factors participating in the cytokine storm. Here we demonstrate that interferon-induced protein 35 (IFP35) plays an important role in the cytokine storm induced by SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus infection. We find that the levels of serum IFP35 in individuals with SARS-CoV-2 correlates with severity of the syndrome. Using mouse model and cell assays, we show that IFP35 is released by lung epithelial cells and macrophages after SARS-CoV-2 or influenza virus infection. In addition, we show that administration of neutralizing antibodies against IFP35 considerably reduces lung injury and, thus, the mortality rate of mice exposed to viral infection. Our findings suggest that IFP35 serves as a biomarker and as a therapeutic target in virus-induced syndromes. [Display omitted] • Serum IFP35 levels in individuals with SARS-CoV-2 correlate with severity of the syndrome • IFP35 is released by macrophages and lung epithelial cells under influenza infection • IFP35 neutralizing antibodies reduce lung injury and mortality of infected mice • IFP35 serves as a biomarker and as a therapeutic target in virus-induced syndromes Yu et al. identify IFP35 as a biomarker and as a therapeutic target in SARS-CoV-2- or influenza virus-induced syndromes. Neutralizing antibodies against IFP35 considerably reduces lung injury and the mortality of infected mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza virus infection is widely believed to cause mild symptoms, but can lead to high mortality and severe disease complicated by secondary bacterial pneumonia. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proposed as a promising agent to treat respiratory viral infections. A herbal formula Lianhuaqingwen capsule (LHQW) comprising two prescriptions: Maxing Shigan decoction and Yinqiao San, has been used clinically to treat respiratory infection with immune regulatory effects. However, little is known about the capacity of LHQW against influenza-induced secondary bacterial pneumonia. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and underlying mechanism of LHQW on influenza A virus A/PR/8/34 (PR8) secondary methicillin-resistant Staphy-lococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. The anti-adhesion activity of LHQW against PR8-induced MRSA infection was assessed in human lung epithelial (A549) cells and the effect of LHQW on the expression of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) was detected. Also, the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in PR8-infected A549 cells were determined. The body weight change, survivals, viral titers, colonies and the pathological parameters after LHQW treatment in severe pneumonia model have all been systematically determined. LHQW significantly reduced the adhesion of MRSA to PR8-infected A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner by suppressing the up-regulation of bacterial receptors. LHQW also markedly declined the overexpression of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α induced by LPS stimulated-A549 cells following influenza virus infection. Furthermore, the abnormal changes of lung index in dual-infection mice were relieved after administered with LHQW in preventive and therapeutic mode, but with no significantly difference (P > 0.05). LHQW could not effectively improve survival rate or prolong the survival time of mice (P > 0.05). LHQW (1000 mg/kg/d) administered prophylactically significantly decreased the lung viral titers (P < 0.05), slightly downregulated IL-6 but TNF-α, IL-1β levels and improved lung pathological inflammation including neutrophil infiltration, necrosis, which is consistent with the expression of inflammatory factors. LHQW inhibited influenza-induced bacterial adhesion by down-regulating the adhesion molecules with the improvement trend on severe pneumonia, indicating that it can be used as an adjuvant medication in severe viral-bacterial pneumonia therapy rather than as a single medication. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has extensively and rapidly spread in the world, causing an outbreak of acute infectious pneumonia. However, no specific antiviral drugs or vaccines can be used. Phillyrin (KD-1), a representative ingredient of Forsythia suspensa, possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and antiviral activities. However, little is known about the antiviral abilities and mechanism of KD-1 against SARS-CoV-2 and human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E). The study was designed to investigate the antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities of KD-1 against the novel SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E and its potential effect in regulating host immune response in vitro. The antiviral activities of KD-1 against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E were assessed in Vero E6 cells using cytopathic effect and plaque-reduction assay. Proinflammatory cytokine expression levels upon infection with SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E infection in Huh-7 cells were measured by real-time quantitative PCR assays. Western blot assay was used to determine the protein expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65, p-NF-κB p65, IκBα, and p-IκBα in Huh-7 cells, which are the key targets of the NF-κB pathway. KD-1 could significantly inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E replication in vitro. KD-1 could also markedly reduce the production of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, MCP-1, and IP-10) at the mRNA levels. Moreover, KD-1 could significantly reduce the protein expression of p-NF-κB p65, NF-κB p65, and p-IκBα, while increasing the expression of IκBα in Huh-7 cells. KD-1 could significantly inhibit virus proliferation in vitro , the up-regulated expression of proinflammatory cytokines induced by SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E by regulating the activity of the NF-кB signaling pathway. Our findings indicated that KD-1 protected against virus attack and can thus be used as a novel strategy for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liu Shen Wan (LSW), first prescribed in "Lei Yunshang Song Fen Tang Fang", traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is used to cure influenza, tonsillitis, pharyngitis and mumps for more than one hundred years. LSW was proved extensive pharmacological properties, for instance, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, analgesic, antibacterial and immunomodulatory activities. Nevertheless, the mechanism of this process and the evaluation of this product is still ambiguous. Hence, the study was designed to investigate the antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities of LSW against the influenza virus in vitro and vivo. The antiviral activities of LSW were assayed in virus-infected cells and mice. To study the antiviral effects of LSW against influenza A/PR/8/34 virus (PR8), we employed CPE inhibition assay with different concentrations of LSW at different times of infection in vitro. The mice were intranasally infected with virus to induce viral pneumonia, then treated with different doses of LSW. The death protection of the mice, the lung index, virus titer and pathological changes in the lung tissue of mice were investigated to estimate the anti-virus effect of LSW. Moreover, RT-qPCR was used to determine the mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IFN-γ in the A549 cells and the supernatant of lung tissues, and the concentrations of these four cytokines in serum of mice were determined with ELISA. Western blot was used to determine the expression of TLR4, p-NF-κB p65, NF-κB p65, p-IκBα and IκBα in the A549 cells and lung tissues, which are the key targets of TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Moreover, the immunohistochemical assay was used to determine the expression of the NF-κB p65 in the mice lungs. LSW could significantly inhibit influenza virus at different stages of viral replication (at the process of the pre-, post-, and co-virus infection) in vitro. And LSW (100 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg) could effectively increase the survival time of mice. The virus titres, lung index, pathological changes in the mice lungs also decreased. Moreover, LSW could significantly reduce the contents of IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-6 in the infected cells and the infected-mice. In addition, LSW could significantly reduce the expression of TLR4, p-NF-κB p65, NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα, while increase the IκBα in the infected cells and in the lung of mice. LSW could significantly not only inhibit virus replication and proliferation in vitro, but also ameliorate pneumonia damage in vivo. The antiviral effect was attributed to down-regulating the expression of inflammatory cytokines induced by influenza virus via regulating the activity of TLR4/NF-кB signaling pathway. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• P. ostreatus modification of rice straw was multi-perspective analyzed. • P. ostreatus has a high lignocellulose degradation enzymes activity on rice straw. • Physicochemical properties change of rice straw facilitated its enzymes adsorption. • P. ostreatus modification for 25 d increased methane yield of rice straw by 26.9%. Multi-perspective analyses were carried out to investigate the effect of rice straw modification for 45 days by P. ostreatus on biomethane of production. The results showed that rice straw modified for 25 days achieved the highest biomethane yield of 269 mL·g−1 VS, which was a 26.9% improvement compared with non-modified rice straw. The multi-perspective analyses demonstrated that the improvement resulted from fungal enzymatic reactions, which led to changes in the physicochemical properties of rice straw. The porosity, surface area, acetyl group abundance, degree of polymerization, and lignin degradation selectivity of rice straw modified for 25 days were optimal for enzyme adsorption. Compared with non-modified rice straw, the adsorption of cellulase and xylanase on rice straw modified for 25 days was increased by 18.8% and 58.1%, respectively, which facilitated biomethane production. The study indicated that P. ostreatus is effective for improving biomethane production from rice straw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using super-long gravity heat pipes (SLGHPs) to exploit deep-earth geothermal energy has indicated its technical superiority and viability; yet there is no practical application so far. The present work reports an SLGHP geothermal space heating system constructed in Taiyuan, China, which has two SLGHPs (2020 m and 2180 m long, respectively) in combination with a single heat pump. The two wells are located only ∼30 m apart, and the well-log temperature at 2000 m depth is around 63 ° C for both. Temperatures measured by the optical fiber arranged along the SLGHP outer wall show remarkable uniformity, indicating the good performance of SLGHPs. Testing with the SLGHP system finds that the slightly longer SLGHP extracts 70 % more heat than the other one. Analyses reveal that the heat transfer in the geothermal formations surrounding the shorter SLGHP approximately follows the heat conduction regime while the convection of groundwater contributes less; the high yield of the slightly longer SLGHP is due to an interesting downhole heat transfer enhancement mechanism arising from the interlayer crossflow of groundwater. Further, a numerical model is developed to predict the SLGHP geothermal system's performance in 120-days' operation. It is found that this system can output 1 MW of heat, sufficing space heating of ∼25,000 m2 buildings. The simulated 20-years' operation indicates the thermal output degradation is 20.4 % for the shorter SLGHP, whereas it is only 6.8 % for the slightly longer SLGHP; the downhole groundwater crossflow lowers the SLGHP system degradation rate. • Super-long gravity heat pipe is practically used for geothermal exploitation. • A geothermal space heating system of two ∼2000 m long heat pipes is constructed. • Optical fiber temperature monitoring corroborates the heat pipes' good performance. • Performance-enhancement relying on interlayer groundwater crossflow is revealed. • The system can output 1 MW heat, sufficing space heating of ∼2.5 × 104 m2 buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel performance-enhancement strategy for SLGHP geothermal system is proposed. • It relies on arousing inter-layer groundwater crossflow in reservoirs of multi-aquifers. • A numerical model is developed to describe and study the enhanced SLGHP system. • Effects of related parameters are comprehensively studied. The super-long gravity heat pipe (SLGHP) is a novel down-hole heat exchanger (DHE), which is in fast-developing and extremely suitable for deep-earth geothermal energy exploitation. The SLGHP itself has very high heat transfer coefficient, making the poor heat transfer capability of the surrounding geothermal formulations become the bottleneck constraining the overall performance of the SLGHP geothermal system. Inspired by the enhancing effect of the flowing groundwater in the aquifers on the thermal performance of the traditional DHE system, the present work proposes a heat transfer enhancement strategy based on arousing inter-layer crossflow in wellbore-connected multi-aquifers for the SLGHP geothermal system. A detailed numerical study is conducted to examine the effects of key parameters like the permeability and thickness of aquifers, the distance and pressure difference between aquifers. It is found that: i) a larger aquifer permeability leads to larger heat extraction rate of the SLGHP, but the heat extraction rate increment decreases due to the marginal effect when the aquifer permeability is larger than 10−12 m2; ii) a larger pressure difference improves the heat extraction of the SLGHP, the groundwater flow pattern from the deep to the shallow aquifers rather than the reversed pattern is found to be more beneficial due to the geothermal gradient; iii) the distance between aquifers shows a composite impact on the heat extraction performance of the SLGHP. A larger distance not only enlarges the heat transfer area between the SLGHP and the groundwater, but also creates an impeding effect on the heat uptake of SLGHP from the geothermal formation owing to the presentence of temperature-lowered groundwater in the flow path ending-part in the wellbore. In addition, the aquifer's thickness is found to have great impacts on the SLGHP heat extraction rate, and the "cask" effect may be encountered when the thickness difference between the connected aquifers is considerably large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One salient feature of the heat pipe system is its superior heat transfer efficiency, which allows the transfer of significant amount of heat at near-zero temperature difference. In recent years, the scientific community has shown considerable interest in advancing geothermal heat extraction through the utilization of super-long gravity heat pipes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the present status of the application of super-long gravity heat pipe technology for geothermal energy extraction, along with the key parameters including working fluid, length and diameter of heat pipe, filling ratio of the working fluid, and other technical factors. The state-of-the-art on experimental and numerical research, field testing, technical aspects of cogeneration, and thermo-economic analysis of the super-long gravity heat pipe geothermal system are extensively discussed. A super-long gravity heat pipe (SLGHP) with a length of 3000 m was developed and successfully tested; the heat pipe used water as working fluid, and extracted geothermal heat at a rate of 190 kW. To enhance the heat extraction capabilities of the SLGHP system, integrating materials with superior thermal conductivity can diminish the thermal resistance within the geothermal formation. Moreover, selecting appropriate working fluids and optimizing the structure of heat pipe can further reduce its thermal resistance. This study also highlights the existing challenges and research gaps that should be addressed in the future to further increase the heat transfer efficiency of SLGHP geothermal systems. [Display omitted] • Past and recent work on heat pipe advancements for geothermal uses are summarized. • A 3000 m long super-long heat pipe successfully extracted heat from hot dry rock. • Economic and environmental impacts are compared with other geothermal systems. • Downhole heat transfer enhancements are suggested for efficiency improvement. • Integration and cogeneration are analyzed for better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dihydrocarbazoles were synthesized through a novel [4+2] annulation of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes (DACs) to indoles. This reaction was performed in ethanol by using para -toluenesulfonic acid as catalyst. Mechanism of this reaction might involve the following three steps: (i) an electrophilic ring-opening reaction of the DACs with indoles, in which C3 position of indole acts as a nucleophilic site, (ii) an intramolecular dehydration induced ring-closing reaction occurs that offers a spiro intermediate, and (iii) a following 1,2-migration which leading to a dihydrocarbazole scaffold. Otherwise, dihydroisoindole can also be constructed by replacing the indole component with pyrrole as nucleophile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Highly crystalline large-scale anionic 2D COF membrane was prepared via an optimized interfacial crystallization approach. • The mass transport in anionic 2D COF membrane is controlled by charge and size sieving effect. • The negatively charged COF membranes displayed selective remove surfactant for the first time. Organic pollutants are biological toxicity and should be removed from the environment. Membrane separation offers several advantages in organic pollutants removal such as high pollutants selectivity and high solvent permeability. Covalent organic framework membrane is regarded as an emerging porous membrane for nanofiltration owing to their permanent porosity and well-defined pore structure in various organic media. Herein, a self-standing 2D sulfonate anionic COF membrane with nanometer pore size and -SO 3 Na groups has been successfully prepared. The surface charge combines with nanopore sieving property endow the COF membrane high nanofiltration separation performances and charge-controlled organic molecular separation. The anionic membrane can effectively intercept > 99% of cationic organic pollutants, while maintaining excellent solvent permeability due to its rigid porous structure and high porosity. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation provides further understanding on the charge-controlled separation in ionic nanoporous membranes. Our work may open up a new avenue for developing charged COF membrane for nanofiltration and organic pollutants separation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Heat transfer experiments of an extra-long gravity heat pipe are conducted. • The heat pipe is long (40 m in length) and thin (7 mm in diameter). • Heat pipe performance is correlated with the four multiphase flow regimes inside. • Heat pipe working in the film boiling regime performs the best. • Using water as working fluid is better than ethanol and acetone at high heat load. The exploitation of deep geothermal energy has created a great demand for super-long distance heat transportation technology. As one of the most highly-efficient heat transfer devices, the super-long gravity-assisted heat pipe is promising to achieve this heat transportation. The performance of the super-long heat pipe is related to the multiphase flow status inside, the details of which are yet unknown. In this paper, a systematic experimental study on the multiphase flow regimes and the performance of an extra-long heat pipe was conducted. The experimental heat pipe is 40 m in length, 7 mm in diameter, which mimics the major geometric characteristic of the super-long heat pipes that can be practically used for geothermal heat extraction. Thermal performance and surface temperature of the extra-long heat pipe using water, ethanol or acetone as working fluid were measured and analyzed. Particular focus was placed on correlating the heat transfer performance of the heat pipe with the multiphase flow regime inside it. It was found that the extra-long heat pipe works in the following four different flow regimes successively with the increase in inflow heat: (1) nucleating pool boiling regime; (2) geyser boiling regime; (3) evaporating film boiling regime; and (4) overheated boiling regime. The thermal performances of extra-long heat pipe are significantly affected by the flow regimes, while the transition between these flow regimes is influenced by the properties of working fluid, the fluid fill height, and the heat load. It is found that the heat pipe working in the evaporation film boiling regime shows the best thermal performance and the heat pipe using water as working fluid is more suitable for relatively high heat load use. The reachable maximum axial heat fluxes for the water, ethanol, and acetone heat pipes are found to be about 6.5 × 106, 2.21 × 106, 2.08 × 106 W·m−2, respectively. These characteristics of heat transfer and multiphase flow provide very useful hints for the design and development of super-long geothermal heat pipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aryl-oxazole alkaloids are an important class of heterocyclic natural products, and which has been demonstrated to exhibit broad biological functions. So, in order to develop highly potential functional molecules, a series of novel sulfur-containing aryl-oxazole compounds derived from natural hinduchelins was designed and synthesized, and their bioactivity and the possible mechanism of action have been investigated. Aryl-oxazole alkaloids are an important class of heterocyclic natural products, and which has been demonstrated to exhibit broad biological functions. During the course of our research for highly active compounds from natural products, the natural hinduchelins A-D with typical aryl-oxazole unit have been synthesized and investigated. So, in order to develop highly potential functional molecules, a series of novel sulfur-containing aryl-oxazole compounds derived from natural hinduchelins was designed and synthesized, and their in vitro fungicidal activities against four common plant pathogenic fungi (oomycetes Phytophthora capsici , ascomycetes Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, deuteromycetes Botrytis cinerea and basidiomycetes Rhizoctonia solani) were evaluated, the results demonstrated that compounds 7b and 7c displayed good selectivity and specificity in vitro against basidiomycetes R. solani. In addition, the in vivo antifungal activities also indicated compounds 7b and 7c can protect the horsebean against infection by R. solani , and the possible mechanism of antifungal action for these compounds has also been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese herbal medicine is increasingly used as complementary therapy to manage nausea and vomiting in different cultures. One such herbal recipe is the Hezhong granules, which contain classical antiemetic formulations, and are commonly used to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Modern pharmacological studies have shown that the key components of Hezhong granules, including Pinellia ternata (Thunb.), Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.), and Zingiber officinale exhibit significant antiemetic and antitumor properties. Despite this promising evidence, controlling CINV remains a significant challenge in cancer treatment. Moreover, there is a lack of scientifically designed clinical trials to validate the efficacy and safety of classical antiemetic formulas for CINV interventions. To investigate the efficacy and safety of Hezhong granules in preventing CINV in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). This study was conducted between October 2020 and February 2022 in 12 hospital wards in Southwest China. In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial, we enrolled patients with advanced CRC who received fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the Hezhong granule group (receiving a 5-HT3-receptor antagonist, dexamethasone, and Hezhong granules) or the placebo group (receiving a 5-HT3-receptor antagonist, dexamethasone, and placebo) during the first and second courses of chemotherapy. A 5-day diary was provided to all patients. Acute and delayed CINV were defined as CINV occurring within 24 h or between 24 and 120 h after the start of treatment. The primary endpoints were complete response rate (CRR, defined as the proportion of patients without nausea/vomiting) and objective response rate (ORR, defined as the proportion of patients without nausea/vomiting plus mild nausea/vomiting) for both acute and delayed CINV. Secondary endpoints were the daily rates of CINV events and Functional Living Index-Emesis (FLIE). To identify the predictors of CINV, we conducted multivariate ordered logistic regression analysis. This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial, number ChiCTR2100041643. A total of 120 participants were randomly assigned, of whom 112 (56/56) completed two cycles and were included in the full analysis. In the acute phase, there were minor improvements in the Hezhong granule group, but there were no significant differences in the CRRs for nausea and vomiting (mean difference:10.7 %, P = 0.318, 0.324), while the ORRs increased by approximately 17.5 % (mean difference:16.1 %, P = 0.051; 17.9 %, P = 0.037, respectively). In the delayed phase, significant improvements of approximately 20 % were observed in both the CRRs (mean difference:19.6 %, P = 0.053; 21.4 %, P = 0.035) and ORRs (mean difference:17.9 %, P = 0.037, 0.043) for nausea and vomiting. Additionally, the daily rate of CINV events showed a mean difference of 19 % (P < 0.05). According to FLIE scores, approximately 70 % of patients who received Hezhong granules reported an improvement in their quality of life, with CINV symptoms having"no impact on daily life (NIDL)". No serious adverse events were attributed to herbal medicine. Hezhong granules proved to be both effective and well-tolerated in preventing CINV in patients with advanced CRC, with notable benefits in preventing delayed CINV. These promising results set the stage for subsequent phase III clinical trials and experimental research on Hezhong Granules. [Display omitted] • Hezhong granule can increase the complete response rate of CINV by about 10 %–20 %. • Hezhong granule can increase the objective response rate of CINV by about 16 %–18 %. • Hezhong granule show better efficacy in preventing delayed CINV. • Hezhong granule is well tolerated and can significantly improve the quality of life of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel channel-selection convolutional neural network (CS-CNN) is proposed to predict NOx emission from coal-fired boilers under steady-state and transient load conditions. First, a new channel-selection convolutional layer (CS-CL) is presented to replace regular convolutional layer (RCL). The CS-CL evaluates the channel importance of the input variables, selects the Top-C important channels and releases the hyperparameters of the remaining low-importance channels, thus contributing to maximize the utilization of the parameter resources of the model. The advantages of using CS-CLs are the preservation of the great majority of manipulated variables involved in combustion control among the input variables and the prevention of the model overfitting problem due to the redundancy of input variables. Second, a sliding window-based preprocessing method is applied to the historical data of the boiler which is divided into four-dimensional (4D) tensors. Then, comparative tests are performed on long short-term memory (LSTM) model, baseline CNN and CS-CNN using the historical data of a 670 MW boiler. The results of tests showed that CS-CNN has higher prediction performance. Finally, in order to increase the interpretability of the deep learning black box model, this study analyzes the working mechanism of the CS-CNN through ablation analysis and visualization of model parameters. • Channel importance assessment of input variables by channel selection convolutional layer. • Data-driven model for complete burner manipulation variables. • Novel convolutional neural network for predicting NOx emission from coal-fired boilers. • Model visualization analysis of convolutional neural network for industrial time series data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an effective control scheme to address the robust tracking control problem of the flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle subject to actuator dynamics. The whole vehicle dynamics is decomposed into the velocity subsystem and altitude subsystem, and the nonlinear disturbance observer based dynamic surface control is employed in the controller design within both subsystems. In order to tackle the input constraints, different hyperbolic tangent functions are carefully designed to approximate the non-smooth saturation functions. The compensators are further introduced for saturation approximations with the Nussbaum function technique. Through Lyapunov stability analysis, the closed-loop system is guaranteed to be semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded. Moreover, the tracking and estimation errors converge to an arbitrary small neighborhood around zero. Extensive simulation and evaluations verify the superiority of the proposed scheme. • Actuator dynamics is introduced into the controller design procedure. • The matched and mismatched disturbances are both handled. • Constraints are handled based on the Nussbaum function technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]