Search

NASICON‐type cathode with remarkable ionic conductivity is perspective candidate for fast‐charging sodium‐ion battery. However, severely restricted by low electrical conductivity and poor interfacial kinetics, it usually delivers poor charge transfer kinetics. Different from traditional carbon compositing with high carbon contents, herein, a trace carbon incorporation tactic is proposed based on a typical NASICON‐structured Na3V2(PO4)3. First, particle‐growth process of Na3V2(PO4)3 is regulated via incorporating carbon dot, significantly reducing its particle size to shorten charge diffusion path. Second, electrical conductivity of Na3V2(PO4)3 is improved without sacrificing its high electrochemical activity due to the incorporated trace carbon content (0.76 wt.%). Third, Na3V2(PO4)3‐electrolyte interface structure is optimized by abundant functional groups from the incorporated carbon dot, enabling a thin and stable NaF‐rich CEI layer to boost interface kinetics. As a result, carbon dot endows Na3V2(PO4)3 with ultrastable cyclability up to 20 k cycles (capacity retention of 98.4%) and excellent rate capability (up to 200 C) in half cell, as well as high energy density (368.7 Wh kg−1) and fast charging property (≈110.2 s per charging with 250.8 Wh kg−1 input) in full cell. This study carves a new path for developing fast‐charging cathode, as is increasingly desired for present energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spinal fracture is a common traumatic condition in orthopaedics, accounting for 5%–6% of total body fractures, and is a high‐risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE), which seriously affects patient prognosis. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of VTE prophylaxis on the prognosis of patients with spinal fractures in intensive care units (ICUs) and to provide a scientific basis for clinical treatment and nursing. Design: A retrospective study of patients with spinal fractures from the multicenter eICU Collaborative Research Database. Method: The outcomes of this study were ICU mortality and in‐hospital mortality. Patients were divided into the VTE prophylaxis (VP) and no VTE prophylaxis (NVP) groups according to whether they had undergone VTE prophylaxis during their ICU admission. The association between groups and outcomes were analysed using Kaplan–Meier (KM) survival curve, log‐rank test and the Cox proportional‐hazards regression model. Results: This study included 1146 patients with spinal fractures: 330 in the VP group and 816 in the NVP group. KM survival curves and log‐rank tests revealed that both ICU and in‐hospital survival probabilities in the VP group were significantly higher than in the NVP group. After the Cox model was adjusted for all covariates, the hazard ratio for ICU mortality in the VP group was 0.38 (0.19–0.75); the corresponding value for in‐hospital mortality in the VP group was 0.38 (0.21–0.68). Conclusions: VTE prophylaxis is associated with reduced ICU and in‐hospital mortality in patients with spinal fractures in ICUs. More research is necessary to further define specific strategies and optimal timing for VTE prophylaxis. Relevance to clinical practice: This study provides the basis that VTE prophylaxis may be associated with improved prognosis in patients with spinal fractures in ICUs. In clinical practice, an appropriate modality should be selected for VTE prophylaxis in such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) does not respond well to current treatments, even immune checkpoint inhibitors. PD‐L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1 or CD274 molecule)‐mediated immune escape of tumor cells may be a key factor affecting the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. However, the regulatory mechanisms of PD‐L1 expression and immune escape require further exploration. Here, we observed that DDX1 (DEAD‐box helicase 1) was overexpressed in HCC tissues and associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Additionally, DDX1 expression correlated negatively with CD8+ T cell frequency. DDX1 overexpression significantly increased interferon gamma (IFN‐γ)‐mediated PD‐L1 expression in HCC cell lines. DDX1 overexpression decreased IFN‐γ and granzyme B production in CD8+ T cells and inhibited CD8+ T cell cytotoxic function in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, DDX1 plays an essential role in developing the immune escape microenvironment, rendering it a potential predictor of ICI therapy efficacy in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative damage‐triggered apoptosis in lens epithelial cells is considered as a main risk factor in the pathogenesis of age‐related cataracts. Ku70 is a key factor in the DNA repair process of double‐strand breaks. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role of Ku70 and its related E3 ubiquitin ligase in lens epithelial cell apoptosis. The levels of Ku70 in the anterior lens capsules of human cataracts and Emory mice were lower compared to controls. H2O2 treatment resulted in decreased expression of Ku70 through accelerating Ku70 ubiquitination. Parkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, could interact with Ku70 and promote the ubiquitination and degradation of this protein. In addition, ubiquitinated Ku70 was regulated by ubiquitin‐proteasome, autophagy‐lysosome and mitophagy pathways. Ectopic expression of Ku70 protected SRA01/04 cells from H2O2‐induced apoptosis, whereas silencing Ku70 exhibited the opposite trend. Co‐transfected with Parkin non‐ubiquitinatable Ku70 mutant could maintain its anti‐apoptosis ability, whereas wild‐type Ku70 failed. Moreover, Ku70 might facilitate mitochondrial fusion by increasing the expression of Mitofusin 1/2. The present study revealed that Parkin‐mediated Ku70 ubiquitination facilitated H2O2‐induced lens epithelial cell apoptosis through alleviating mitochondrial fusion, which could provide potential targets for age‐related cataract treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In medical image segmentation tasks, it is typical to adopt convolutional neural networks with a serial encoder‐decoder structure. However, mainstream networks cannot simultaneously achieve sufficient extraction of global features and the fusion of multi‐scale information, which may lead to unpromising results for the segmentation of pathological images. Therefore, this article proposed a novel multi‐scale feature fusion and global self‐attention network (MSSA‐Net) for medical image segmentation. Specifically, we designed a parallel double‐encoder network with a multi‐scale feature fusion encoder (MS‐Encoder) and a self‐attention encoder (SA‐Encoder). The SA‐Encoder introduces the transformer's global self‐attention mechanism to extract global features, and the MS‐Encoder adopts atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) to realize multi‐scale fusion. We have evaluated the proposed MSSA‐Net using three medical segmentation datasets, covering various imaging modalities such as colonoscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. Experiments on the CVC‐ClinicDC, the 2015 MICCAI subchallenge on automatic polyp detection dataset, and anatomical tracings of lesions after stroke (ATLAS) show that our MSSA‐Net outperforms mainstream methods such as DoubleU‐Net and TransUNet. Moreover, MSSA‐Net can predict more accurate segmentation masks, especially in the case of ATLAS, which has challenging images such as multiple shadow areas and discrete lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pathology of age‐related cataract (ARC) mainly involves the misfolding and aggregation of proteins, especially oxidative damage repair proteins, in the lens, induced by ultraviolet‐B (UVB). MSH3, as a key member of the mismatch repair family, primarily maintains genome stability. However, the function of MSH3 and the mechanism by which cells maintain MSH3 proteostasis during cataractogenesis remains unknown. In the present study, the protein expression levels of MSH3 were found to be attenuated in ARC specimens and SRA01/04 cells under UVB exposure. The ectopic expression of MSH3 notably impeded UVB‐induced apoptosis, whereas the knockdown of MSH3 promoted apoptosis. Protein half‐life assay revealed that UVB irradiation accelerated the decline of MSH3 by ubiquitination and degradation. Subsequently, we found that E3 ubiquitin ligase synoviolin (SYVN1) interacted with MSH3 and promoted its ubiquitination and degradation. Of note, the expression and function of SYVN1 were contrary to those of MSH3 and SYVN1 regulated MSH3 protein degradation via the ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway and the autophagy‐lysosome pathway. Based on these findings, we propose a mechanism for ARC pathogenesis that involves SYVN1‐mediated degradation of MSH3 via the ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway and the autophagy‐lysosome pathway, and suggest that interventions targeting SYVN1 might be a potential therapeutic strategy for ARC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐scale intracontinental deformations were developed in response to the tectonic evolution of the southern Longmenshan tectonic belt (LMS) on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Detailed studies, including field structural analysis and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), were conducted on sedimentary rocks in the foreland basin of the southern Longmenshan tectonic belt (FBSL) in order to better understand the tectonic evolution of the southern LMS. Field observations show that FBSL deformations are mainly characterized by broad and gentle folds in a NE–SW direction and shallow thrust faults. At least two sedimentary discontinuities and two‐stage deformations occurred after the deposition of Cretaceous strata. Samples of magnetic fabrics from the Qionglai–Changshiba profile were characterized by the triaxial magnetic susceptibility ellipsoids common in sedimentary rocks. The magnetic fabrics of the profile represent a weak deformation that was associated with layer‐parallel shortening before folding and mainly reflect the Mesozoic–Cenozoic NW–SE convergence. There are also the following atypical magnetic fabrics: magnetic foliation that is oblique to the bedding and that was associated with layer‐parallel simple shearing during folding; and magnetic lineation that is to varying degrees oblique to the strike of bedding and represents a superposition of structures. Based on the correlation results of magnetic fabrics for samples of different ages, a tectonic superposition since the Late Indosinian Orogeny was found in FBSL. By combining field structural analysis and magnetic fabrics, it was suggested herein that the FBSL is a propagation product of Mesozoic–Cenozoic deformations of southern LMS to the southeast, which therefore experienced a composite superposition of deformations. This finding provides the basis for a comprehensive understanding of the southern LMS and may shed light on the uplift of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and the tectonic response of its eastern boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2D materials, the quantum confinement and van der Waals‐type interlayer interactions largely govern the fundamental electronic and optical properties, and the dielectric screening plays a dominant role in the excitonic properties. This suggests strongly layer‐dependent properties and a central topic is to characterize and control the interlayer interactions in 2D materials and heterostructures. Black phosphorus is an emerging 2D semiconductor with unusually strong interlayer interactions and widely tunable direct bandgaps from the monolayer to the bulk, offering an ideal platform to probe the layer‐dependent properties and the crossover from 2D to 3D (i.e., the scaling effects). In this review, a comprehensive and thorough summary of the fundamental physical properties of black phosphorus is presented, with a special focus on the layer‐dependence character, including the electronic band structures, optical absorption and photoluminescence, and excitonic properties, as well as the band structure engineering by means of electrical gating, strain, and electrochemical intercalation. Finally, an outlook is given for the future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internal void defects induced during the manufacturing process of polymer‐matrix composites can significantly degrade the mechanical properties of the composite, particularly the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). In this study, we developed an innovative integrated methodology based on a deep learning semantic segmentation algorithm, named DeepLabV3+, and a theoretically driven equation to automatically identify voids in optical images and investigate the relationship between the microscopic voids and macroscopic ILSS parameters of the composite laminates. Results suggest that for the best fine‐tuned DeepLabV3+ framework, the corresponding mean pixel accuracy and intersection over union scores on the testing set were 99.84% and 90.82%, respectively, thereby indicating the potential of the generalized trained model. In addition, detailed experiments revealed that the proposed method can successfully obtain the ILSS values of laminates with different void contents. In addition, the ILSS values of the carbon/epoxy laminates decreased by approximately 27% with an increase in the void content from 0.07% to 3.14%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the process‐induced distortions (PIDs) of asymmetrical laminates can be predicted accurately and tailored at the early design stage, the production of curved panels from flat molds could be an attractive technique in a cost‐driven production environment. A data‐driven computational methodology which integrates the finite element method (FEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) is presented to rapidly predict the maximum PID and to perform high‐throughput screening of thermosetting‐matrix composites of an asymmetrical laminate for a targeted maximum PID. We performed a grid search on ANN architectures and hyper‐parameters using cross‐validation and obtained a well‐trained ANN model with high generalization performance. For the forward problem, the ANN model was adopted to predict the maximum PIDs of CYCOM X850 and CYCOM 977‐2 prepregs, which were subsequently verified experimentally. For inverse design, a large‐scale screening method based on the ANN model was utilized to determine the candidates for a targeted maximum PID, with an experimental demonstration using one of these candidates. The well‐trained ANN model provides an alternative approach to faster computation with high accuracy for the maximum PID prediction and further guides the discovery of materials with desired distortion behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatment of hemophiliacs with inhibitors remains challenging, and new treatments are in urgent need. Coagulation factor X plays a critical role in the downstream of blood coagulation cascade, which could serve as a bypassing agent for hemophilia therapy. Base on platelet‐targeted gene therapy for hemophilia by our and other groups, we hypothesized that activated factor X (FXa) targeted stored in platelets might be effective in treating hemophilia A (HA) and B (HB) with or without inhibitors. Methods: To achieve the storage of FXa in platelets, we constructed a FXa precursor and used the integrin αIIb promoter to control the targeted expression of FXa precursor in platelets. The expression cassette (2bFXa) was carried by lentivirus and introduced into mouse hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), which were then transplanted into HA and HB mice. FXa expression and storage in platelets was examined in vitro and in vivo. We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of platelet‐stored FXa by tail bleeding assays and the thrombelastography. In addition, thrombotic risk was assessed in the recipient mice and the lipopolysaccharide induced inflammation mice. Results: By transplanting 2bFXa lentivirus‐transduced HSPCs into HA and HB mice, FXa was observed stably stored in platelet α‐granules, the stored FXa is releasable and functional upon platelet activation. The platelet‐stored FXa can significantly ameliorate bleeding phenotype in HA and HB mice as well as the mice with inhibitors. Meanwhile, no FXa leakage in plasma and no signs of increased risk of hypercoagulability were found in transplantation recipients and lipopolysaccharide induced septicemia recipients. Conclusions: Our proof‐of‐principle data indicated that target expression of the FXa precursor to platelets can generate a storage pool of FXa in platelet α‐granules, the platelet‐stored FXa is effective in treating HA and HB with inhibitors, suggesting that this could be a novel choice for hemophilia patients with inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal structures of the pluton may provide key information on magma emplacement mechanism and the relationship with regional tectonics. We present a case study on the Late Triassic Gaoqiao pluton from South Qinling Belt, which was emplaced under a syn‐collisional setting. Multi‐approaches including zircon U–Pb geochronology, field and microstructural observations, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility analysis was conducted to reconstruct the growth process of the pluton and to investigate the internal structures. Zircon U–Pb geochronology reveals that the pluton is a composite intrusion which was constructed by two successive units with distinct ages (~220 and ~210 Ma). Field observations show that the Gaoqiao pluton and its country rocks recorded abundant evidences of syn‐plutonic deformations, indicating a syn‐tectonic emplacement. Microstructural observations show that the internal fabrics were mainly acquired during the stage from magma flow to high‐T solid‐state deformation. The fabric distributions display 'onion‐skin' patterns on the pluton scale, which are characterized by zoned foliations and lineations. Combined with the syn‐collisional convergence setting, we propose a tectonic‐controlled incremental growth model for the pluton, in which the pluton was successively constructed by the Fujiahe unit and the Hetaoping unit, and the emplacement process of the pluton was controlled by the regional deformation with sinistral transpressional kinematics. Furthermore, the internal fabric patterns of the Gaoqiao pluton were probably formed by tectonic‐controlled helical magma flow, which appears to be common in fabric formation of many other plutons with similar features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xianshuihe Fault Belt (XSF), along which the syntectonic Zheduoshan batholith was emplaced, has great significance for the reconstruction of the tectonic framework in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. In this contribution, formation process and evolution of the XSF are discussed based on the structural deformation in the field and the geochronology of Zheduoshan batholith. The results show that the XSF current arc‐shaped protrusion to the north‐east probably was formed by a fracture of the clockwise rotation compression that extended northward to the periphery with the eastern Himalayan tectonic syntaxis as the centre. It is a complex fault belt formed by the superposition of multi‐stage structures. In the early‐stage formation and evolution of the XSF, the Oligocene‐Miocene migmatite zone and Miocene granites of the Zheduoshan batholith were emplaced. Among them, the lower limit of the XSF's initial activity time was not less than 47 Ma that was limited by the Zircon U–Pb geochronology of migmatite zone formed under the compression system. During the emplacement of Miocene granites, the XSF underwent a process from compression to sinistral strike‐slip, and the geochronology indicates that the onset of the XSF sinistral strike slip should not be less than 14 Ma. After syntectic magmatism, the XSF also experienced the shear deformation (from ductile to brittle) with sinistral kinematics. 40Ar‐39Argeochronology results show that the ductile shear deformation mainly occurred around 5.5–3.2 Ma and accompanied a staged and differential uplift from north to south. It extended to the south along the weak crustal zone of Anninghe, Daliangshan, Xiaojiang, and other faults, forming the Xianshuihe–Anninghe–Xiaojiang sinistral strike‐slip fault system on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and large‐scale sinistral strike slip began around 5 Ma. Our new insights lay a foundation for understanding and dissecting the formation and evolution of the Tibetan Plateau eastern margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to observe the clinical characteristics of recovered patients from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) with positive in reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) or serum antibody. The profile, clinical symptoms, laboratory outcomes, and radiologic assessments were extracted on 11 patients, who tested positive for COVID‐19 with RT‐PCR or serum antibody after discharged and was admitted to Hubei No. 3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University for a second treatment in March 2020. The average interval time between the first discharge and the second admission measured 16.00 ± 7.14 days, ranging from 6 to 27 days. In the second hospitalization, one patient was positive for RT‐PCR and serum antibody immunoglobulin M (IgM)‐immunoglobulin G (IgG), five patients were positive for both IgM and IgG but negative for RT‐PCR. Three patients were positive for both RT‐PCR and IgG but negative for IgM. The main symptoms were cough (54.55%), fever (27.27%), and feeble (27.27%) in the second hospitalization. Compared with the first hospitalization, there were significant decreases in gastrointestinal symptoms (5 vs 0, P =.035), elevated levels of both white blood cell count (P =.036) and lymphocyte count (P =.002), remarkedly decreases in C‐reactive protein and serum amyloid A (P <.05) in the second hospitalization. Additionally, six patients' chest computed tomography (CT) exhibited notable improvements in acute exudative lesions. There could be positive results for RT‐PCR analysis or serum IgM‐IgG in discharged patients, even with mild clinical symptoms, however, their laboratory outcomes and chest CT images would not indicate the on‐going development in those patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fast growing 2D materials family, anisotropic 2D materials, with their intrinsic in‐plane anisotropy, exhibit a great potential in optoelectronics. One such typical material is black phosphorus (BP), with a layer‐dependent and highly tunable bandgap. Such intrinsic anisotropy adds a new degree of freedom to the excitation, detection, and control of light. Particularly, hyperbolic plasmons with hyperbolic q‐space dispersion are predicted to exist in BP films, where highly directional propagating polaritons with divergent densities of states are hosted. Combined with a tunable electronic structure, such natural hyperbolic surfaces may enable a series of exotic applications in nanophotonics. Herein, the anisotropic optical properties and plasmons (especially hyperbolic plasmons) of BP are discussed. In addition, other possible 2D material candidates (especially anisotropic layered semimetals) for hyperbolic plasmons are examined. This review may stimulate further research interest in anisotropic 2D materials and fully unleash their potential in flatland photonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A retrospective analysis verified the role of gene mutations in brain metastasis in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Data from 552 patients with advanced NSCLC treated from January 2015 to June 2017 in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University were retrospectively analyzed. Next‐generation sequencing was used to detect mutations in eight reported driver genes and various risk factors were evaluated. Results: Of the 552 patients with advanced NSCLC, 153 (27.7%) had brain metastases. The univariate analysis showed that age (P =.008), gender (P =.016), smoking history (P =.010), lymph node metastasis (P =.003), and three driver genes, positive epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation (P =.001), positive anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene fusion (P =.021), and positive rearranged during transfection (RET) gene fusion (P =.003), were the factors influencing the incidence of brain metastasis. Logistic multivariate regression analysis revealed that positive EGFR mutation (P =.012), positive ALK gene fusion (P =.015), positive RET gene fusion (P =.003), pathological type (P =.009), lymph node N2‐3 metastasis (P <.001), and a younger age (P <.001) were independent risk factors for brain metastasis. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted with the above factors with an area under the curve = 0.705 (P <.001). Conclusions: An EGFR mutation, ALK gene fusion, and RET gene fusion in advanced NSCLC patients play roles in brain metastasis as positive driver genes. Impact: An EGFR mutation, and ALK and RET gene fusions are risk factors for brain metastasis in advanced NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous neurogenesis holds promise for brain repair and long‐term functional recovery after ischaemic stroke. However, the effects of exosomes from human urine‐derived stem cells (USC‐Exos) in neurogenesis remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether USC‐Exos enhanced neurogenesis and promoted functional recovery in brain ischaemia. By using an experimental stroke rat model, we found that intravenous injection of USC‐Exos enhanced neurogenesis and alleviated neurological deficits in post‐ischaemic stroke rats. We used neural stem cells (NSCs) subjected to oxygen‐glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) as an in vitro model of ischaemic stroke. The in vitro results suggested that USC‐Exos promoted both proliferation and neuronal differentiation of NSCs after OGD/R. Notably, a further mechanism study revealed that the pro‐neurogenesis effects of USC‐Exos may be partially attributed to histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) inhibition via the transfer of exosomal microRNA‐26a (miR‐26a). Taken together, this study indicates that USC‐Exos can be used as a novel promising strategy for brain ischaemia, which highlights the application of USC‐Exos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorination of π‐conjugated backbones is garnering great interest because of fine‐tuning electronic properties of conjugated materials for organic devices. Herein we report a synthesis of thiophene‐based diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) dimers and their chlorinated counterparts by introducing a chlorine atom in the outer thiophene ring to investigate the influence of the chlorination on charge transport. The backbone chlorination lowers both the HOMO and the LUMO of the dimers and leads to a blue‐shift of maximum absorption in compared to unsubstituted counterparts. X‐ray analysis reveals that the chlorine atom prompts the outer thiophene ring out of the planarity of the backbone with a relatively large torsional angle. The chlorinated dimers exhibit slipped one‐dimensional packing decorated with multiple intermolecular interactions, because of a combination of a negative inductive effect and a positive mesomeric effect of the halogen atom, which might facilitate charge transport within the oligomeric backbones. The mobility in the single‐crystal OFET devices of the chlorinated dimers is up to 1.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is two times higher than that of the non‐chlorinated DPP dimers. Our results indicate that the chlorine atom plays a key role in directing non‐covalent interactions to lock the slipped stacks, enabling electronic coupling between adjacent molecules for efficient charge transport. In addition, our results also demonstrate that these DPP dimers with straight n‐octyl chains exhibit higher mobilities than the dimers with branched 2‐ethylhexyl chains. Charge transport property tuning: The backbone chlorination of DPP dimers significantly influences molecular packing, intermolecular interactions, and leads to higher mobilities than that of unsubstituted counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a large amount of controllable loads in the microgrid. They can be described as virtual energy storage to participate in microgrid tie-line power fluctuation mitigation. Firstly, in order to meet the grid-connected requirement, the wavelet packet decomposition algorithm is used to smooth the tie-line power fluctuation. Furthermore, in order to prevent overcharge and overdischarge of battery or virtual energy storage, the power allocation between two types of energy storage is implemented equally based on the concept of energy. In addition, the fuzzy control strategy is applied to revise virtual energy storage power based on its SOC (i.e. state-of-charge), so that virtual energy storage can operate within a reasonable work range. Finally, an example is given to verify the effectiveness of the control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study simulated continental lithosphere extension and break‐up through performing 2D numerical modelling with the "I2VIS" code. Based on the simulation results, the process of continental lithosphere extension and break‐up at different stages under different boundary conditions is quantitatively analysed, and its major controlling factors were determined. Through a comparative analysis of different simulation results, the following findings could be obtained: (a) During slow extension, increasing extension rate leads to increased thinning of the continental lithosphere, further increasing the corresponding thickness of sediments. Meanwhile, a centre of settlement appears on the terrestrial side of the initial basin, and sediment deposition occurred. This slow extension mode does not induce intense destruction of the lithosphere with low‐angle fault, which does not control deposition in the basin. Therefore, low extension rate is possibly a dominant factor controlling the formation of a depression‐type basin. (b) In the fast extension mode (at a rate of 10 mm/a), when hydrated mantle is absent, the continental crust experiences noticeable destruction. According to the simulation results, several translithospheric faults are observed in the absence of hydrated mantle. This indicates that continental lithosphere destruction is closely related to extension rate and lithospheric rheology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Experimental methods and theoretical analysis are employed to investigate effects of channel opening area on downward flame spread characteristics of extruded polystyrene (XPS) thermal insulation materials on building facade. The average flame height first drops and then rises as dimensionless opening area (the ratio of sidewall opening area to sidewall area, ie, S*) increases. As S* rises, both the average and maximum temperature of the curtain wall decrease, and the decreasing of the average temperature is linear. XPS surface temperature history can be divided into four stages, ie, inapparent rising stage (preheating), significant rising stage (melting), dropping stage (pyrolysis), and rerising stage (ignition). The preheating length first rises and then drops as S* increases. The XPS flame spreads steadily at the early period while acceleration occurs at the later period. For different opening areas, the difference in spread distance history is not apparent in the early stage while this difference is significant in the later stage. The flame spread rate (Vf) first increases and then decreases as S* rises. A downward flame spread model for XPS in vertical channel with openings is built. The varied trend of Vf predicted using this model corresponds to the experimental result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinling Orogenic Belt was formed by long‐lived subduction and collision between the North and South China blocks. Our 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data of amphibole, white mica, and biotite reveal different exhumation and cooling histories of the major units in the North Qinling Belt and South Qinling Belt (SQB), constraining the multiple orogenic processes. The exhumation of the Qinling Group in the North Qinling Belt started before 432 Ma, through about 500 °C during 432.3–405 Ma, followed by rapid cooling below 425 °C at 388.9 ± 1.1 Ma and slow cooling through about 300 °C during 333.3–329.5 Ma. A similar exhumation history of the Kuanping Group started from about 383 Ma, cooled below 425 °C at 364.9 ± 1.2 Ma and 300 °C at 341.8 ± 1.3 Ma. The metamorphic fore‐arc sedimentary wedge cooled below 500 °C during 322–311.2 Ma, below 425 °C at 306.3 ± 2.8 Ma, and 300 °C at 249 ± 2.8 Ma. However, the white mica 40Ar/39Ar ages of 349.4 ± 5.1 and 363.2 ± 2.5 Ma constrain the syntectonic metamorphic crystallization age of the Devonian Liuling Group in the northern SQB, whereas 228.2 ± 0.7 Ma indicates either a delayed cooling of the Wudang Group in the southern SQB or a second stage of low‐temperature thermal overprint. Together with previous cooling ages and regional geology, our new data support a tectonic model of Early Paleozoic Andean‐type orogeny with subsequent Late Paleozoic continental subduction in the Qinling Orogenic Belt. Key Points: North Qinling Belt exhumation and cooling below 500 °C occurred in 432–405 Ma, below 425 °C at 389 Ma, and 300 °C during 333–329 MaMetamorphic fore‐arc sedimentary wedge cooling below 500 °C occurred during 322–311 Ma, below 425 °C at 306 Ma, and 300 °C at 249 MaExhumation propagated from North Qinling at 432 Ma to northern and southern South Qinling Belt at 322–311 Ma and 228 Ma, respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In case of a fire in large‐span steel structure buildings, the firefighters usually use water to cool the steelwork. However, during the cooling by the spraying water, the collapse of these structures is unclear. In this paper, a large‐span center is taken as an example to study the overall mechanical response process under local cooling conditions in fire. The Fire Dynamics Simulator has been used to investigate the temperature field distribution rule of large‐span buildings under fire. Using the coupled thermal‐mechanical method to study the overall mechanical response process of steel structure under local abrupt drop in temperature, displacement and stress variations of the large‐span steel structure under local cooling have been analyzed. Results of this study show that the temperature distribution in large‐span structures is nonuniform in fire. Using spraying water to cool the structural members in fire can cause the structural stress field redistributed that may lead to further damage to the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Ocean and the West Pacific Ocean and their ocean-continent connection zones are the core area of 'the Belt and Road'. Scientific and in-depth recognition to the natural environment, disaster distribution, resources, energy potential of 'the Belt and Road' development, is the cut-in point of the current Earth science community to serve urgent national needs. This paper mainly discusses the following key tectonic problems in the West Pacific and North Indian oceans and their ocean-continent connection zones (OCCZs): 1. modern marine geodynamic problems related to the two oceans. Based on the research and development needs to the two oceans and the ocean-continent transition zones, this item includes the following questions. (1) Plate origin, growth, death and evolution in the two oceans, for example, 1) The initial origin and process of the triangle Pacific Plate including causes and difference of the Galapagos and West Shatsky microplates; 2) spatial and temporal process, present status and trends of the plates within the Paleo- or Present-day Pacific Ocean to the evolution of the East Asian Continental Domain; 3) origin and evolution of the Indian Ocean and assembly and dispersal of supercontinents. (2) Latest research progress and problems of mid-oceanic ridges: 1) the ridge-hot spot interaction and ridge accretion, how to think about the relationship between vertical accretion behavior of thousands years or tens of thousands years and lateral spreading of millions years at 0 Ma mid-oceanic ridges; 2) the difference of formation mechanisms between the back-arc basin extension and the normal mid-oceanic ridge spreading; 3) the differentials between ultra-slow Indian Ocean and the rapid Pacific spreading, whether there are active and passive spreading, and a push force in the mid-oceanic ridge; 4) mid-oceanic ridge jumping and termination: causes of the intra-oceanic plate reorganization, termination, and spatial jumps; 5) interaction of mantle plume and mid-oceanic ridge. (3) On the intra-oceanic subduction and tectonics: 1) the origin of intra-oceanic arc and subduction, ridge subduction and slab window on continental margins, transform faults and transform-type continental margin; 2) causes of the large igneous provinces, oceanic plateaus and seamount chains. (4) The oceanic core complex and rheology of oceanic crust in the Indian Ocean. (5) Advances on the driving force within oceanic plates, including mantle convection, negative buoyancy, trench suction and mid-oceanic ridge push, is reviewed and discussed. 2. The ocean-continent connection zones near the two oceans, including: (1) Property of continental margin basement: the crusts of the Okinawa Trough, the Okhotsk Sea, and east of New Zealand are the continental crusts or oceanic crusts, and origin of micro-continent within the oceans; (2) the ocean-continent transition and coupling process, revealing from the comparison of the major events between the West Pacific Ocean seamount chains and the continental margins, mantle exhumation and the ocean-continent transition zones, causes of transform fault within back-arc basin, formation and subduction of transform-type continental margin; (3) strike-slip faulting between the West Pacific Ocean and the East Asian Continent and its temporal and spatial range and scale; (4) connection between deep and surface processes within the two ocean and their connection zones, namely the assembly among the Eurasian, Pacific and India-Australia plates and the related effect from the deep mantle, lithosphere, to crust and surface Earth system, and some related issues within the connection zones of the two oceans under the super-convergent background. 3. On the relationship, especially their present relations and evolutionary trends, between the Paleo- or Present-day Pacific plates and the Tethyan Belt, the Eurasian Plate or the plates within the Indian Ocean. At last, this paper makes a perspective of the related marine geology, ocean-continent connection zone and in-depth geology for the two oceans and one zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidisciplinary studies of the Baliping granite pluton and the Shagou shear zone (East Qinling Orogen, Central China) have been conducted to reconstruct the emplacement and deformation processes of the Baliping pluton, to explore the relationship between granite pluton and shear zone deformation, and further to constrain the tectonic setting of the Late Triassic magmatism in the Qinling Orogen which remains controversial. Zircon U-Pb geochronology studies confirmed that the Baliping granites and the protolithes of the Shagou granitic mylonites crystallized from the same magmas at ca. 221 Ma since the two nearly have the same zircon U-Pb ages and Ti-in-zircon temperatures. Meanwhile, the 210 Ma of metamorphic zircons and the 201 Ma of syntectonic granitic vein provide precise limits on the timing of synkinematic deformation in response to Late Triassic orogeny. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, microstructural observation, and shape preferred orientation were combined to study the internal structures. New fabrics datasets display a high degree of coupling between the Baliping pluton and the Shagou shear zone, indicating a syntectonic emplacement of the pluton. Microstructural data suggest that the magmatic to high-temperature solid-state deformation is a continuum process in which the fabrics were mainly acquired. We propose an integrated syntectonic emplacement model of the Baliping pluton, in which the shear zone deformation (sinistral transpression) play a significant role on the emplacement of the magma by creating rooms. Emplacement of the pluton, in turn, triggers the nucleation of Shagou shear zone by providing the protoliths and the heat. On the basis of this study, we argued that the Qinling Orogen was still under the convergent setting during 221-201 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three water-soluble polymerizable polysiloxane-polyether block imidazolium ionic liquids containing α-hydroxy alkylphenone groups ([Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] ( n = 1, 3, 5) are designed and synthesized as novel green photoinitiators. The photochemical properties and photoinitiation mechanism of the [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] are investigated by ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, real-time infrared spectroscopy and electron spin resonance. [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] exhibit good water solubility that reaches up to 12%. [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] not only show desirable thermal properties and low saturated vapor pressure, but also effectively initiate photopolymerization. The initial weight loss of [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] ( n = 1, 3, 5) is at 256 °C and their saturated vapor pressures are less than 3.0 Pa. The migration of the photolysis fragments of [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] from the cured material is mitigated significantly by their polymerizability and high molecular weights. Furthermore, biological tests involving Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains in contact with the UV-cured films initiated by [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] demonstrate that [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] are effective antibacterial agents. Therefore, [Si-E n-2959Im-A][TsO] are promising components for the preparation of environmentally friendly materials and antibacterial coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was noted that circadian components function in plant adaptation to diurnal temperature cycles and freezing tolerance. Our genome-wide transcriptome analysis revealed that evening-phased COR27 and COR28 mainly repress the transcription of clock-associated evening genes PRR5, ELF4 and cold-responsive genes. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated that CCA1 is recruited to the site containing EE elements of COR27 and COR28 promoters in a temperature-dependent way. Further genetic analysis shows COR28 is essential for the circadian function of PRR9 and PRR7. Together, our results support a role of COR27 and COR28 as nighttime repressors integrating circadian clock and plant cold stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the market share of automotive display increased, special used displays are required; BOE developed 12.3-inch automotive free-form curved cluster. For this product, free-form and curved design can be matched in vehicle preferably. Meanwhile, it is designed in automotive class, which means that this product will perform excellently in severe environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our present paper summarizes the shortcomings in the current fire-resistant design of oversized steel structures and proposes a method for overall stability analysis of steel structures in the event of fire. The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software platform-based large-eddy simulation technology can accurately reflect the environment in a fire scenario and correctly predict the spatial-temporal change in the smoke temperature field within an oversized space. Adopting the FDS software and finite element structural analysis (ANSYS) coupling can fundamentally overcome the natural defect of adopting the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard curve (or other indoor homogeneous temperature increase curves) that substitutes a point for the overview of a field. They reflect the structural additional internal force and internal force redistribution incurred by the gradient temperature difference of the spatial-temporal changing nonhomogeneous temperature field and both theoretically and technically realize the analysis of structural heat transfer and mechanical properties in a natural fire. Furthermore, a modified model to predict the steel temperature curve in localized fire is also proposed. The localized fire in large spaces can be treated as a point fire source to evaluate the flame thermal radiation to steel members in the modified model. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detrital zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic study was carried out in the Middle Silurian to Late Carboniferous sedimentary strata of the northwestern Tarim Craton in order to understand accretionary processes in the southern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Detrital zircons from these strata yielded U-Pb ages clustering around 2.8-2.3 Ga, 2.0-1.7 Ga, 1.3-0.9 Ga, 880-600 Ma, and 500-400 Ma, with age populations and Hf isotopic signatures matching those of magmatic rocks in the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan Block. Abundant 500-400 Ma detrital zircons most likely reflect deposition in a retroarc foreland basin inboard of an Andean-type magmatic arc to the north, supporting the northern Tarim-Central Tianshan connection during early Paleozoic time. The absence of 380-310 Ma zircon population in the Carboniferous siliciclastic rocks suggests that the Central Tianshan Block may have been separated from the Tarim Craton in the Early Devonian, caused by the interarc/back-arc opening of the South Tianshan Ocean. We propose an accretionary orogenic model switching from advancing to retreating mode during Paleozoic time in the southwestern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. This transition most likely occurred coevally with the rifting of Southeast Asian blocks from the northeastern margin of Gondwana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zhongchuan district is an important component of the metallogenic belt in the Western Qinling. The Zhongchuan granite pluton occurring in the centre of the Zhongchuan metallogenic area has been poorly constrained, though the Triassic granite in Western Qinling has been well documented. In-situ zircon U-Pb ages, Hf isotopic compositions and whole-rock geochemical data are presented for host granite and mafic microgranular enclaves (MMES) from the Zhongchuan pluton, in order to constrain its sources, petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the pluton. The distribution of major, trace and rare earth elements apparently reflect exchange between the MMES and the host granitic rocks mainly due to interactions between coeval felsic host magma and mafic magma. The zircon U-Pb age of host granite (231.6 ± 1.5 to 235.8 ± 2.3 Ma) has overlapping uncertainty with that of the MMES (236.6 ± 1.3 Ma), establishing that the mafic and felsic magmas were coeval. The Hf isotopic composition of the MMES ( εHf( t) = −13.4 to 4.0) is distinct from the host granite ( εHf( t) = −15.7 to 0.0), indicating that both enriched subcontinental lithosphere mantle (SCLM) and crustal sources contributed to their origin. The zircons have two-stage Hf model ages of 1064 to 1798 Ma for the host granite and 858 to 1747 Ma for the MMES. This suggests that the granitic pluton was likely derived from partial melting of a Late Mesoproterozoic crust, with subsequent interaction with the SCLM-derived mafic magmas in tectonic affinity to the South China Block. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY This paper advocates the capacity analysis of an amplify-and-forward cooperative communication system model in multi-relay multiuser networks. A two-step selection scheme is adopted, and both relay and user selection are based on the outdated channel state information. Exact expression of channel capacity for independent, but not necessarily identically distributed, Rayleigh fading channels is derived. Finally, simulations are carried out to verify the correctness of theoretical analysis and illustrate the effect of parameters on the performance. Results show that although the performance of our scheme is inferior to the optimal joint selection scheme, it is still a practical scheme because its complexity is much lower than that of the optimal scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xunhua, Guide and Tongren intermontane basin system in the NE Tibetan Plateau, situated near the Xining basin to the N and the Linxia basin to the E, is bounded by thrust fault-controlled ranges. These include to the N, the Riyue Shan, Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges, and to the S the northern West Qinling Shan ( NWQ). An integrated study of the structural geology, sedimentology and provenance of the Cenozoic Xunhua and Guide basins provides a detailed record of the growth of the NE Tibetan Plateau since the early Eocene. The Xining Group ( ca. 52-21 Ma) is interpreted as consisting of unified foreland basin deposits which were controlled by the bounding thrust belt of the NWQ. The Xunhua, Guide and Xining subbasins were interconnected prior to later uplift and damming by the Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges. Their sediment source, the NWQ, is constrained by strong unidirectional paleocurrent trends towards the N, a northward fining lithology, distinct and recognizable clast types and detrital zircon ages. Collectively, formation of this mountain-basin system indicates that the Tibetan Plateau expanded into the NWQ at a time roughly coinciding with Eocene to earliest Miocene continental collision between India and Eurasia. The Guide Group ( ca. 21-1.8 Ma) is inferred to have been deposited in the separate Xunhua, Guide and Tongren broken foreland basins. Each basin was filled by locally sourced alluvial fans, braided streams and deltaic-lacustrine systems. Structural, paleogeographic, paleocurrent and provenance data indicate that thrust faulting in the NWQ stepped northward to the Laji Shan from ca. 21 to 16 Ma. This northward shift was accompanied by E-W shortening related to nearly N-S-striking thrust faulting in Jishi Shan after 11-13 Ma. A lower Pleistocene conglomerate (1.8-1.7 Ma) was deposited by a through-flowing river system in the overfilled and connected Guide and Xunhua basins following the termination of thrust activity. All of the basin-mountain zones developed along the Tibetan Plateau's NE margin since Indian- Tibetan continental collision may have been driven by collision-induced basal drag of old slab remnants in the manner of N-dipping and flat-slab subduction, and their subsequent sinking into the deep mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning, reducing the pencil-beam size may lead to a significant improvement in dose conformity, but also increase the time needed for the dose calculation and plan optimization. The authors develop and evaluate a postoptimization refinement (POpR) method, which makes fine adjustments to the multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf positions after plan optimization, enhancing the spatial precision and improving the plan quality without a significant impact on the computational burden. Methods: The authors' POpR method is implemented using a commercial treatment planning system based on direct aperture optimization. After an IMRT plan is optimized using pencil beams with regular pencil-beam step size, a greedy search is conducted by looping through all of the involved MLC leaves to see if moving the MLC leaf in or out by half of a pencil-beam step size will improve the objective function value. The half-sized pencil beams, which are used for updating dose distribution in the greedy search, are derived from the existing full-sized pencil beams without need for further pencil-beam dose calculations. A benchmark phantom case and a head-and-neck (HN) case are studied for testing the authors' POpR method. Results: Using a benchmark phantom and a HN case, the authors have verified that their POpR method can be an efficient technique in the IMRT planning process. Effectiveness of POpR is confirmed by noting significant improvements in objective function values. Dosimetric benefits of POpR are comparable to those of using a finer pencil-beam size from the optimization start, but with far less computation and time. Conclusions: The POpR is a feasible and practical method to significantly improve IMRT-plan quality without compromising the planning efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paleomagnetic study was carried out on late Jurassic sediments in the Nanjing area. Stepwise thermal demagnetization was used to isolate the characteristic higher temperature component (HTC) (D=354.0°, I=48.5°, a95=7.8°), which passes the reversal test. A 24.7 ± 8.7°counter-clockwise rotation relative to the Sichuan area is detected through comparing this new pole (84.4°N, 7.0°E, A95=7.7°) with other coeval poles reported from South China. This rotation was conducted by sinistral action of slip faults. These cases presenting in several areas of eastern China indicate that deformation of eastern China is under the effect of subduction from the Pacific Ocean plate. The difference on the paleolatitude of several areas across the Tan-Lu fault zone is calculated and suggests about at most 250 km offset distance after the later Jurassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zircon U-Pb geochronological data on over 900 zircon grains for Cambrian to Silurian sandstone samples from the South China Block constrain the pre-Devonian tectonic setting of, and the interrelationships between, the constituent Cathaysia and Yangtze blocks. Zircons range in age from 3335 to 465 Ma. Analyses from the Cathaysia sandstone samples yield major age clusters at ∼2560, ∼1850, ∼1000, and 890-760 Ma. Zircons from the eastern and central Yangtze sandstone samples show a similar age distribution with clusters at ∼2550, ∼1860, ∼1100, and ∼860-780 Ma. A minor peak at around 1450 Ma is also observed in the Cathaysia and central Yangtze age spectra, and a peak at ∼490 Ma represents magmatic zircons from Middle Ordovician sandstone in the eastern Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks. The Cambrian and Ordovician strata show a transition from a carbonate-dominated succession in the central Yangtze Block, to an interstratified carbonate-siliciclastic succession in the eastern Yangtze Block, to a neritic siliciclastic succession in the Cathaysia Block. Paleocurrent data across this succession consistently indicate directions toward the W-NNW, from the Cathaysia Block to the Yangtze Block. Our data, together with other geological constraints, suggest that the Cathaysia Block constitutes a fragment on the northern margin of east Gondwana and both Cathaysia and east Gondwana constituted the source for the analyzed early Paleozoic samples. The similar age spectra for the Cambrian to Silurian sandstone samples from the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks argue against the independent development and spatial separation of these blocks in the early Paleozoic but rather suggest that the sandstone units accumulated in an intracontinental basin that spanned both blocks. Subsequent basin inversion and Kwangsian orogenesis possibly at 400-430 Ma also occurred in an intracontinental setting probably in response to the interaction of the South China Block with the Australian-Indian margin of east Gondwana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dabieshan orogenic belt is a zone of long-lived shortening with late-stage extension that formed during Mesozoic time in central China. Regional basin analysis coupled with structural cross sections provides a means of reconstructing the paleogeography of the region from Triassic continental collision through early Tertiary extension. The overall distribution of different basin types in the orogenic belt indicates that there was a prolonged period of shortening throughout the Mesozoic that became less intense over time. Meanwhile, extension became more common from Jurassic into Tertiary time. Either compression or extension was isochronous but limited to different geographic regions and/or crustal levels or alternated repeatedly orogen-wide through time. Nonetheless, the orogen underwent gradual transition from overall shortening and crustal thickening to dominantly extension and rift basin formation although these events overlapped in time from the Jurassic through Early Cretaceous. Penecontemporaneous compression and extension across the orogen may reflect long-term (>100 m.y.) shortening and crustal thickening leading to gravitational spreading of the resultant thick crustal welt. We suspect that this prolonged history of shortening across two nearby (∼100 km apart) suture zones played some role in the exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure rocks from beneath the Dabieshan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure developed in association with oblique motions on the dextral, strike-slip Finlay-Ingenika fault (FIF) in the McConnell Creek area, north-central British Columbia, is dominated by subvertical to vertical strike-slip faults. Some of the faults cut the area into discrete, fault-bounded blocks several kilometres wide. Stress tensors for 24 sites were inverted from the regional cleavage which predates the block-bounding faults. The site-mean stress tensors indicate that the fault-bounded blocks were rotated clockwise about a subvertical axis during progressive oblique motions on the FIF. Rotation varies systematically, being maximal (58.7±3.3°) close to the FIF and minimal (0.0±1.6°) about 20 km away. Paleomagnetic samples were collected from 13 sites in the widespread Early Jurassic to Cretaceous plutonic rocks. Interpretable magnetic components of presumed Late Cretaceous age were obtained from six sites. The observed paleopole is significantly different from the Late Cretaceous reference pole for cratonal North America (CNA). After corrections for the local block rotations, the precision is much improved ( K increased from 48 to 383), and the paleopole moves closer to the reference pole but is not coincident with it. Rotation about the Eulerian pole for the best-fitting small circle to the Tintina trench and northern Rocky Mountain trench fault zone, however, brings the observed pole into coincidence with that for CNA and requires ∼670 km of dextral displacement on the fault zone. It is evident therefore that local structures associated with large dextral strike-slip faults could account for at least part of the paleomagnetic disparity between some western parts of the Canadian Cordillera and CNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Temperature fields analysis is an essential work to evaluate the behavior of structures in fires. Large space buildings are mostly highly populated or high‐fire load places with high fire risks. So it is a research focus to predict the temperature fields of large space fires accurately. In this study, a full‐scale physical experiment on fires in large spaces has been conducted. The results show that the temperature distribution of natural fires in large spaces is nonuniform. With regard to the evolution laws of the temperature fields of natural fires in large spaces, the author developed a new temperature field prediction model for large spaces. The new model has been compared with the well‐known Li G Q model and the Xue S D model. Based on the comparative analysis, the new model can predict the change laws of the temperature fields with time in the whole fire process and reflect the gradual attenuation of temperature fields in the fire during the decay phase better. In the meantime, this new model developed by the authors can be used to structural analysis exposed to fires in large space buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Ancient wood pagodas, as the excellent representative of ancient China, play an important role in Chinese historical, art, and scientific aspects. Because most pagodas are lacking maintenance for a long time and the long term reinforcement measure has not been determined, it is necessary to carry out an emergency reinforcement method to avoid further damage. This paper presents a design guideline of emergency reinforcement method for ancient wood pagodas. Field tests based on pulsating method were carried out to identify the dynamic characteristics, structural stiffness, and structural damages. The modal frequency, modal shape of different columns and stiffness of each story indicate that the second apparent story is the weak point of the whole structure. To effectively analyze the nonlinear performance of the second apparent story and verify the superiority of the emergency reinforcement method, three elaborated finite element models of the second apparent story in undamaged, and current and reinforced states are established. The buckling analysis shows that the emergency reinforcement method could improve the critical load 89% nearby compared with the current structure. In addition, the seismic analysis proves that the emergency reinforcement method has positive effects on strengthening the weak point to against the earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]