Search

Pristine REBa2Cu3O7−δ (REBCO, RE with Yb, Y, Dy, Gd, Eu and Sm) superconducting films are deposited on CeO2 buffered technical substrates by fluorine-free metal organic decomposition (FF-MOD) method. The structure and superconductivity are comprehensively characterized and studied. Under the optimal conditions, all the films form good crystallinity and strong biaxial texture examined by XRD. A smooth and dense morphology is observed in the YBCO, GdBCO, EuBCO and SmBCO films. For all the films, Tconset values are lower than that in the corresponding bulk materials, implying a certain degree of microstructure defects (e.g., RE-Ba substitution, and/or oxygen vacancies). Among all the compositions, the GdBCO film shows a high Tconset value (>90 K), while the high Jc values are achieved at 77 K in broad field regime, also being with the largest maximum pinning force of 2.3 GN m−3. On the other hand, a high Jc value (at 77 K self-field) is obtained in the YBCO film, however, the rapid Jc decay with increase of the magnetic fields is found. These results reveal that defects in the YBCO film could only serve as weak pinning centers at least at 77 K. According to Dew-Hughes fitting models, we found that the primary pinning mechanism in all the REBCO films attributes to typical 2D non-superconducting phase i.e., Normal surface pinning. This work for the first time systemically demonstrates feasibility of deposition REBCO with various rare earth elements on technical substrates through the FF-MOD route, and provides a guideline for further growth of nano-composited and mixed rare earth REBCO films.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most typical and common metabolic abnormalities in women of reproductive age. This study examined the protective effects of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. polysaccharides (DNLP) on ovarian follicular development in letrozole-induced PCOS rats and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. The PCOS rats showed the increased body weight, serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels and insulin resistance. DNLP treatment reduced the body weight, serum testosterone level and insulin resistance, but failed to affect luteinizing hormone level in the PCOS rats. DNLP treatment recovered disrupted estrous cycle in the PCOS rats. DNLP treatment decreased antral follicles and increased the thickness of the granular cell layer. DNLP treatment increased the PCNA mRNA and protein expression levels in the PCOS ovarian tissues, and inhibited cell apoptosis in the PCOS ovarian tissues via regulating apoptosis-related proteins including Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3. In summary, this study demonstrated the protective effects of DNLP on the ovaries in the letrozole-induced PCOS rat model. DNLP exerted its protective effects via improving follicular development and inhibiting apoptosis of ovarian granular cells in PCOS rats. This study will provide experimental basis for the future clinical application of DNLP in the treatment of PCOS.

This study proposes a new inverse method to estimate the bed topography elevation beneath glaciers flows from surface observations (altimetry elevations and InSAR velocities) and (very) sparse depth measurements (e.g. acquired during airborne campaigns). To do so an original form of depth-integrated flow equations (long-wave assumption) is derived. The latter are valid for highly to mildly-sheared regimes hence including moderately fast flows; varying internal thermal profiles are taken into account. The inverse problem is particularly challenging since the surface signatures integrate the bottom features (bed elevation and friction–slip amount) plus the internal deformation. The first key ingredient of the inverse method is the derivation of this non-isothermal Reduced Uncertainty (RU) version of the classical SIA equation (lubrication type model for generalised Newtonian fluids) by intrinsically integrating the surface measurements in the formulation. This resulting multi-physics RU-SIA equation contains a unique uncertain dimensionless parameter only (the parameter γ ). The next key ingredient is an advanced Variational Data Assimilation (VDA) formulation combined with a purely data-driven extension of γ based on the trend observed in the (sparse) depth measurements (e.g. along the flight tracks). The resulting inverse method provides the first physical-based depth estimations in mildly-sheared mildly-slippery shallow flows. In poorly monitored ice-sheet areas (e.g. in Antarctica), the resulting estimations are noticeably less uncertain than the current ones (in particular compared to those obtained by gravimetry inversions). The present numerical experiments and experimental sensitivity analyses demonstrate the reliability of this new RU-SIA equation and the robustness of the inverse method. In other respect, the RU-SIA equation may provide a-posteriori estimations of the thermal boundary layer at bottom.

This paper studies the eco-driving strategy for parallel hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs). Its goal is to advice the driver with a fuel-optimal speed profile to follow and for this purpose two artificial neural networks (ANN) are designed to enable real-time implementation. To train the ANNs, an optimal control problem (OCP) is formulated, which is first solved using the dynamic programming (DP) technique. From the DP solutions obtained, several sequences of control modes are identified with the aid of semi-analytical solutions of the OCP. Then, a multi-class classification ANN is used to decide which control sequence to apply, and a regression ANN is further used to estimate the duration of each control mode in the control sequence. The ANN-reconstructed profiles are finally analyzed in comparison with the DP-computed speed profiles.

Increasing evidence highlighted the metabolic associations between host and gut microbiota during infection. However, how host-gut microbiota metabolic partnership response to carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (CRE) infection has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we subjected the mice to a single intraperitoneal injection of CRE and studied the alterations of the small molecule metabolites derived from host-microbial co-metabolism, as well as the gut microbiome in mice, at 24 h after infection by a two-level strategy. A panel of metabolites in feces and serum, were found to alter significantly in the CRE group, including 26 joint metabolites between them. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of 14 OTUs in Firmicutes (10 OTU), Bacteroidetes (2 OTU), Actinomycetes (1 OTU), and Proteobacteria (1 OTU) were observed to change after infection. Association analyses demonstrated that 9 OTUs including six in the Firmicutes phylum, two in the Bacteroidetes phylum, and one in the Actinomycetes phylum, were associated with the changes of 49 fecal metabolites and 42 serum metabolites. The study of gut microbiota-host metabolic interactions in the early stage of the infection is expected to provide novel diagnostic methods and therapeutic strategies for CRE infection, bring innovative solutions to resolve the current challenge.

Increasing evidence highlighted the metabolic associations between host and gut microbiota during infection. However, how host–gut microbiota metabolic partnership response to Carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (CRE) infection has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we subjected the mice to a single intraperitoneal injection of CRE, and studied the alterations of the small molecule metabolites derived from host-microbial co-metabolism, as well as the gut microbiome in mice, at 24 h after infection by a two-level strategy. A panel of metabolites including 129 in feces and 74 in serum, were found to alter significantly in CRE group. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of 15 OTUs in Actinomycetes (1 OTU), Bacteroidetes (2 OTU), Proteobacteria (1 OTU) and Firmicutes (11 OTU) were observed to change after infection. Intercorrelation analysis demonstrated that 49 cecal metabolites and 42 serum metabolites were associated with the changes of one microbe in the Actinomycetes phylum, two microbes in the Bacteroidetes phylum, and six microbes in the Firmicutes phylum. The observed changes in gut microbiome and metabolome in response to CRE infection are more sensitive than traditional biochemical indicators such as the serum levels of TNF-α. The study of gut microbiota-host metabolic interactions in the early stage of the infection is expected to provide the novel diagnostic methods and therapeutic strategies for CRE infection, which might bring innovative solutions to resolve current challenge.

Interactions among four aldehydes (3-methyl butanal, pentanal, hexanal, and heptanal) and myofibrillar proteins (MPs) were investigated in this study. Overall, the results and analyses demonstrate that the binding capacities of the aldehydes were substantially enhanced as protein concentration increased (p

The optimal design of a molten salt solar power tower (SPT) plant is sensitive to the variations of uncertainties, such as solar radiation, which result in dispersion of the model output. To mitigate the impacts of uncertainties on the thermo-economic performance of SPT plant, this study develops an uncertainty-based multi-objective robust optimization design method for the case of a SPT plant in Sevilla with the expected value (i.e. the average energy cost) and the standard deviation (i.e. the dispersion of the model output) of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) as the objectives. The Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and simulated annealing (SA) algorithm are combined to solve the robust optimization problem. The results of Pareto frontier indicate that a trade-off is needed through decision-making. The final optimal solution is determined with expectation of LCOE of 23.09 c/kWhe and standard deviation of LCOE of 1.25 c/kWhe. Compared with the deterministic optimal design, the standard deviation of LCOE of the multi-objective robust optimum is reduced by 17.22 %, which turns out to be less sensitive to the uncertainties. Moreover, the Sobol’ global sensitivity analysis results show that the direct solar radiation, heliostat field cost and receiver cost are the most sensitive to LCOE.

Cuprate superconductors are key candidate materials toward high energy-efficient devices. Improving their growth rate and performance under magnetic fields are indispensable for achieving even higher efficiency. For the first time, we demonstrated the ultra-high rate up to 100 nm/s in the growth of dual-phase cuprate superconducting film (EuBa2Cu3O7-BaHfO3). The growth rate achieved is two orders of magnitude higher than that at lab-scale and was also the highest on record to our best knowledge. Epitaxial growth mechanism assisted by the transient liquid phase is proposed, as evidenced by formation of Eu2BaCuO5 and Ba–Cu–O metastable phases under high supersaturation conditions. The high growth rate results in formation of mixed defective landscape, consisting of short nanorods, nanoparticles and naturally formed defects (e.g., staking faults). Due to such unique microstructure, we confirm that weak Jc anisotropy is dominated by random pinning mechanism. Contribution of isotropic and anisotropic Jc to Jctotal also varies with temperatures and magnetic field strength, which is a consequence of evolution of dominant pinning in film. As a result, the in-field current carrying capacity is significantly enhanced (exceeding 430 A/4 mm-width at 4.2 K, 18 T, B//c), being among the top tier of commercialized superconductor materials. This study establishes the correlation between ultra-high growth rate and flux pinning behaviors, which provides feasibility of dramatically improvement of production efficiency with the low price-performance ratio of future high temperature superconductor.

We investigated the protection offered by the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM639 against waterborne Al exposure in tilapia. Fish were allocated to control, CCFM639-only, Al-only or Al plus CCFM639 groups. The fish were exposed to 2.73mg/L Al ions for 4 weeks. The probiotic was incorporated into the fish diet at 108 CFU/g and provided twice daily. Our results showed that L. plantarum CCFM639 significantly enhanced feed utilization, growth performance and antioxidant ability in the absence of waterborne Al exposure. When fish were exposed to Al, dietary supplementation with the strain effectively decreased the death rate and accumulation of Al in tissues, and enhanced growth performance. Moreover, Al-induced changes in hematobiochemical parameters and hepatic oxidative stress and histopathology were also alleviated. Therefore, L. plantarum CCFM639 may be a novel dietary supplement for fish to enhance growth performance and prevent aquaculture and food safety problems induced by Al pollution.

A setup of transverse tension measurements of high temperature superconductor (HTS) RE-Ba-Cu-O coated conductors are modified for simplicity. Modification includes using high strength epoxy films instead of solder as adhesive agents and changing the shape of contact surface between test samples and anvils. This method was designed to measure delamination strength of stabilizer free REBCO coated conductors with a width more than 10 mm. It is also applicable to REBCO coated conductors with copper or stainless-steel stabilizers. Samples made by the IBAD/PLD process were tested by this test. Effect of operation temperature on the delamination strength of coated conductors was investigated. In addition, fracture surfaces of delaminated samples were studied.

Exposure of humans to second-hand smoking (SHS) increases glucose and lipid metabolic disorders. The link of hepatic metabolic dysfunction to environmental cigarette smoking has been noticed, but the related mechanism is still unclear. C57BL/6 mice with normal food diet (NFD) or high fat diet (HFD) were exposed to 15 min cigarette smoking twice a day in a 0.038 m3 box for 4 weeks, and the concentration of nicotine in the air of the box was 21.05 mg/m3 during the smoke exposure. Liver tissues and serum were collected for gene expression and biochemistry test. The fecal microbiota was also checked through 16S rDNA sequences. Cigarette smoking exposure increased the accumulation of total cholesterol (TC) in liver, and the expression of cholesterol synthesis-related genes was upregulated. The expression of CYP8B1 protein was significantly down-regulated, and the ratio of cholic acid (CA) to chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was significantly reduced in the liver of mice exposed to cigarette smoking especially for HFD group. Cigarette smoking exposure caused insulin resistance in the liver of mice with HFD. The composition of the gut microbiota was altered with the exposure of cigarette smoking, and the change of the distribution of primary bile acids might be one of the reasons. It was concluded that cigarette smoking would break the homeostasis of cholesterol and bile acids metabolism and changed the composition of gut microbiota. Our discoveries confirmed that smoking bans are important for the public health.

The ultrasonic-assisted extraction of total polyphenol from Allium senescens L. (ASL) seeds was conducted, and the antioxidant efficacy of ASL seed extract (ASLSE) was assessed in Harbin dry sausages. ASLSE extracted with 1:30 g/mL water at 150 W for 15 min had the highest antioxidant capacities (P 0.05). Subsequently, different addition levels (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g/kg) of freeze-dried ASLSE were applied in dry sausages during a twelve-day fermentation, and BHT treatment was the positive control. The lower pH values and carbonyl contents were detected in the treatments with 6 and 8 g/kg ASLSE than those in the other treatments at 12 d (P 0.05). However, there was no difference in the water activity, lipid oxidation and color among the treatments with 6 and 8 g/kg ASLSE and 0.2 g/kg BHT (P 0.05) at 12 d. These results indicated that 6 g/kg ASLSE could be effective in inhibiting lipid and protein oxidation and reducing color deterioration of dry sausages.

In this paper we study the exact controllability property of a microbeam model by means of a single boundary control. We use the multiplier method together with the controllability–observability duality to obtain a time T ⁎ > 0 such that the corresponding linear equation is exactly controllable provided that the control time is greater than T ⁎ > 0 . Our exact controllability result improves the one obtained in Vatankhah et al. (2014) [20] , which uses six boundary controls instead of a single one.