Search

Background: The multidose Sabin-strain inactivated poliovirus vaccine (sIPV) has the potential to significantly aid in the eradication of poliomyelitis, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. As part of a phase III clinical trial in which infants were given three doses of primary immunization at 2, 3, and 4 months of age, this study aimed to evaluate immune persistence following primary immunization, as well as the safety and immunogenicity of a booster of the 5-dose sIPV in infants aged 18 months. Methods: Infants aged 18 months were given one booster dose of 5-dose sIPV in stage one, which was open-label. Unblinding was performed for stage two after completing primary immunization, which was randomized, blinded, and controlled; infants aged 18 months in the test group I–III, IPV group, and single-dose sIPV group were given one booster dose of 5-dose sIPV, conventional IPV, and single-dose sIPV, respectively, in stage two. Results: This study included 1438 infants in the immune persistence and safety set and 1387 infants in the booster per-protocol set. Fourteen months after primary immunization, the seropositivity rates (≥1:8) for types 1–3 were 100%, 99.88%, and 99.53% in the 5-dose sIPV groups; 100%, 98.97%, and 97.23% in the IPV group; and 99.66%, 100%, and 99.66% in the single-dose sIPV group. A total of 30 days after booster immunization, the seropositivity rates (≥1:8) of 3 serotypes in all the groups reached 100%. The geometric mean titers of neutralizing antibodies for types 1–3 in the 5-dose sIPV group were 9962.89, 10273, and 7870.21, with geometric mean increases of 15.76, 33.15, and 24.5, compared to the pre-booster level. The overall incidence of adverse reactions was 8.97%, with fever being the most common, observed at rates of 7.1%, 5.52%, and 7.96% in the 5-dose sIPV, IPV, and single-dose groups, respectively (p = 0.4845). Conclusions: The 5-dose sIPV has shown promising immune persistence and robust immune response following a booster immunization, coupled with an acceptable safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the operational status of aircraft engines evolves, their fault modes also undergo changes. In response to the operational degradation trend of aircraft engines, this paper proposes an aircraft engine fault diagnosis model based on 1DCNN-BiLSTM with CBAM. The model can be directly applied to raw monitoring data without the need for additional algorithms to extract fault degradation features. It fully leverages the advantages of 1DCNN in extracting local features along the spatial dimension and incorporates CBAM, a channel and spatial attention mechanism. CBAM could assign higher weights to features relevant to fault categories and make the model pay more attention to them. Subsequently, it utilizes BiLSTM to handle nonlinear time feature sequences and bidirectional contextual feature information. Finally, experimental validation is conducted on the publicly available CMAPSS dataset from NASA, categorizing fault modes into three types: faultless, HPC fault (the single fault), and HPC&Fan fault (the mixed fault). Comparative analysis with other models reveals that the proposed model has a higher classification accuracy, which is of practical significance in improving the reliability of aircraft engine operations and for Remaining Useful Life (RUL) prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro- and nanorobots are highly intelligent and efficient. They can perform various complex tasks as per the external stimuli. These robots can adapt to the required functional form, depending on the different stimuli, thus being able to meet the requirements of various application scenarios. So far, microrobots have been widely used in the fields of targeted therapy, drug delivery, tissue engineering, environmental remediation and so on. Although microbots are promising in some fields, few reviews have yet focused on them. It is therefore necessary to outline the current status of these microbots' development to provide some new insights into the further evolution of this field. This paper critically assesses the research progress of microbots with respect to their preparation methods, stimulus–response mechanisms and applications. It highlights the suitability of different preparation methods and stimulus types, while outlining the challenges experienced by microbots. Viable solutions are also proposed for the promotion of their practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a new welding method, AC-DC hybrid TIG welding, is used to weld 304 stainless steel. Research on the formation, microstructure, and properties of 304 stainless-steel welded joints are studied by using optical microscope and microhardness. The results show that the weld with AC/DC hybrid welding is a fish-scale pattern, and the density of the fish-scale pattern increases with the increase of AC proportion. Both the weld penetration and the ratio of weld penetration to weld width are the highest when AC accounts for 30%. At this point, the weld penetration is 0.83 mm larger than DC mode, an increase of 93.26%, and the ratio of weld penetration to weld width is 1.6, which is 76.19% higher than DC mode. When the proportion of AC is increased, the microstructure of the weld is equiaxed or columnar, and the microstructure of the heat-affected zone is ferrite in the form of lath. The hardness of the weld is greater than that of the base metal, and the hardness of the heat-affected zone is the lowest. The microhardness distribution of the weld with AC 50% is the most uniform. When AC accounts for 20% and 30%, the average weld hardness is the highest, which are 196.7 HV and 198.1 HV, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water use efficiency ( W U E ) is one of the most widely used indicators in agricultural water management. Although this indicator has obvious advantages, it is limited to measuring the relationship between crop yield and corresponding water use. In recent years, many researchers have noted that understanding the economic efficiency of water use ( E E W U ) could have great water-saving potential, while it has been poorly investigated with respect to China's agricultural water management. This paper assesses E E W U through a household farmer-level survey in the piedmont region of North China. First, E E W U of crops are estimated based on agricultural water consumption (including irrigation water and effective precipitation) and profit (including gross profit and net profit); Second, the impact of monthly price changes in 2019 and annual price changes in 2014–2019 on E E W U is analysed. Main conclusions are as follows: (1) E E W U values of cash crops such as apple and cauliflower are much higher than those of grain crops such as wheat and maize; (2) For different crops, the median economic efficiency of irrigation water ( E E W i U ) and total water ( E E W t U ) range from 31.71 to 99.54 ¥/m3 and 11.31 to 44.05 ¥/m3, respectively; (3) The multi-year average E E W i U and E E W t U ranged from 4.75 to 63.99 ¥/m3 and from 2.67 to 31.71 ¥/m3, respectively. Economic efficiency of water use shows a slightly downward trend in the period of study, which would contradict the trend towards the use of more water-efficient technologies and shows an even larger margin of improvement in the domain of agricultural water efficiency. The results provide a powerful reference for the management of agricultural water use through economic leverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A circular ultra-short A s 2 S 3 filled double-core photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter is proposed. The finite element method is used to study the performance of the designed photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter. By filling high refractive index A s 2 S 3 into the central air hole, the coupling performance of the double-core PCF is improved. By optimizing geometric parameters, the splitting length of the circular beam splitter can be as short as 72.43 μ m, and the extinction ratio can reach −151.42 dB. The high extinction ratio makes the circular polarization beam splitter have a good beam splitting function. The designed circular double-core photonic crystal fiber has the same cladding pore diameter, which is easier to prepare than other photonic crystal fibers with complex pore structure. Due to the advantages of high extinction ratio, extremely short beam splitting function and simple structure, the designed polarization beam splitter will be widely used in all-optical networks and optical device preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spare parts are one of the important components of the equipment comprehensive support system. Spare parts management plays a decisive role in achieving the desired availability with the minimum cost. With the equipment complexity increasing, the price of spare parts has risen sharply. The traditional spare parts management makes the contradiction between fund shortage and spare parts shortage increasingly prominent. Based on the analysis of the multi-echelon and multi-indenture spare parts support model VARI-METRIC (vary multi-echelon technology for recoverable item control, VARI-METRIC), which is widely used by troops and enterprises in various countries, the model is mainly used in high system availability scenarios. However, in the case of low equipment system availability, the accuracy and cost of model inventory prediction are not ideal. This paper proposed the multi-level spare parts optimization model, which is based on the demand-supply steady-state process. It is an analytical model, which is used to solve the low accuracy problem of the VARI-METRIC model in the low equipment system availability. The analytical model is based on the multi-level spare parts support process. The article deduces methods for solving demand rate, demand–supply rate, equipment system availability, and support system availability. The marginal analysis method is used in the model to analyze the spare parts inventory allocation strategy's current based cost and availability optimal value. Finally, a simulation model is established to evaluate and verify the model. Then, the simulation results show that, when the low availability of equipment systems are 0.4, 0.6, the relative errors of the analytical model are 3.54%, 3.86%, and its costs are 0.52, 1.795 million ¥ RMB. The experiment proves that the inventory prediction accuracy of the analytical model is significantly higher than that of the VARI-METRIC model in low equipment system availability. Finally, the conclusion and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cementitious composites have good ductility and pseudo-crack control. However, in practical applications of these composites, the external load and environmental erosion eventually form a large crack in the matrix, resulting in matrix fracture. The fracture of cementitious composite materials causes not only structural insufficiency, but also economic losses associated with the maintenance and reinforcement of cementitious composite components. Therefore, it is necessary to study the fracture properties of cementitious composites for preventing the fracture of the matrix. In this paper, a multi-crack cracking model, fictitious crack model, crack band model, pseudo-strain hardening model, and double-K fracture model for cementitious composites are presented, and their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed. The multi-crack cracking model can determine the optimal mixing amount of fibers in the matrix. The fictitious crack model and crack band model are stress softening models describing the cohesion in the fracture process area. The pseudo-strain hardening model is mainly applied to ductile materials. The double-K fracture model mainly describes the fracture process of concrete. Additionally, the effects of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers and steel fibers (SFs) on the fracture properties of the matrix are analyzed. The fracture properties of cementitious composite can be greatly improved by adding 1.5–2% PVA fiber or 4% steel fiber (SF). The fracture property of cementitious composite can also be improved by adding 1.5% steel fiber and 1% PVA fiber. However, there are many problems to be solved for the application of cementitious composites in actual engineering. Therefore, further research is needed to solve the fracture problems frequently encountered in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of concrete engineering, a large amount of construction, demolition, excavation waste (CDEW) has been produced. The treated CDEW can be used as recycled aggregate to replace natural aggregate, which can not only reduce environmental pollution and construction-related resource waste caused by CDEW, but also save natural resources. However, the mechanical properties and durability of Recycled Aggregates Concrete (RAC) are generally worse than that of ordinary concrete. Various fiber or mineral materials are usually used in RAC to improve the mechanical properties and durability of the matrix. In RAC, polypropylene (PP) fiber and steel fiber (SF) are two kinds most commonly used fiber materials, which can enhance the strength and toughness of RAC and compensate the defects of RAC to some extent. In this paper, the literature on PP fiber- and SF-reinforced RAC (FRRAC) is reviewed, with a focus on the consistence, mechanical performance (compressive strength, tensile strength, stress–strain relationship, elastic modulus, and shear strength), durability (water absorption, chloride permeability, carbonation, freeze–thaw cycling, and shrinkage), and microstructure. The research findings regarding FRRAC were analyzed and compared. The results showed that adding mineral additives and fiber in RAC had a good synergistic effect, which made FRRAC have good mechanical properties, high durability and high temperature resistance, and several application prospects. The information and summary presented in this paper exhibit new knowledge and information on the application of FRRAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topography and precipitation intensity are important factors that affect the quality of satellite precipitation products (SPPs). A clear understanding of the accuracy performance of SPPs over complex terrains and its relationship with topography is valuable for further improvement of product algorithms. The objective of this study is to evaluate three SPPs—the Climate Prediction Center morphing method bias corrected product (CMORPH CRT), Global Precipitation Measurement Integrated MultisatellitE Retrievals (IMERG), and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42V7 (TRMM 3B42V7) against a high-density network of 104 rain gauges over the Taihang Mountains from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017, with special focus on the reliability of products' performance at different elevation and precipitation intensity. The results show that three SPPs slightly overestimate daily precipitation, compared to rain gauge observations, with bias ratios (β) from 1.02 to 1.06 over the entire regions. In terms of accuracy, 3B42 slightly outperforms CRT and IMERG over the Taihang Mountains. As for different elevation ranges, three SPPs show better performance in terms of accuracy in low and moderate elevation (0–500 m) regions. Similar performances of precipitation detection capability can be found for three products over the whole areas, with detection scores ranging from 0.53 to 0.58. Better precipitation detecting performance of three SPPs was discovered in high-elevation (>1000 m) regions. We adopted a linear regression (LR) model and Locally Weighted Regression (LWR) model in an attempt to discover the linear/non-linear relationships between SPPs' performances and topographic variations. In the accuracy statistical metrics, the errors of 3B42 and CRT showed significantly positive correlations (p < 0.01) with elevation variations. The critical success index for three products gradually increased with elevation variation based on the LR model. The correlation coefficient and probability of detection for three products showed significant non-linear trends in the LWR model. The probability distribution function for the three products in different elevation regions is similar to that over the entire regions. Three SPPs slightly overestimated the frequency of heavy rain events (6.9 < precipitation intensity (PI) ≤ 19.6 mm/d); CRT and 3B42 tended to underestimate the frequency of no rain events (PI < 0.1 mm/d), while IMERG generally overestimated the frequency of no rain events. Our results not only give a detailed assessment of mainly current SPPs over the Taihang Mountains, but also recommend that further improvement on retrieval algorithm is needed by considering topographical impacts for SPPs in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]