Search

Objective: Ferritin, the principal iron storage protein, is essential to iron homeostasis. How iron homeostasis affects the adipose tissue is not well understood. We investigated the role of ferritin heavy chain in adipocytes in energy metabolism. Methods: We generated adipocyte-specific ferritin heavy chain (Fth, also known as Fth1) knockout mice, herein referred to as FthAKO. These mice were analyzed for iron homeostasis, oxidative stress, mitochondrial biogenesis and activity, adaptive thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic measurements. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts and primary mouse adipocytes were used for in vitro experiments. Results: In FthAKO mice, the adipose iron homeostasis was disrupted, accompanied by elevated expression of adipokines, dramatically induced heme oxygenase 1(Hmox1) expression, and a notable decrease in the mitochondrial ROS level. Cytosolic ROS elevation in the adipose tissue of FthAKO mice was very mild, and we only observed this in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) but not in the white adipose tissue (WAT). FthAKO mice presented an altered metabolic profile and showed increased insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, and improved adaptive thermogenesis. Interestingly, loss of ferritin resulted in enhanced mitochondrial respiration capacity and a preference for lipid metabolism. Conclusions: These findings indicate that ferritin in adipocytes is indispensable to intracellular iron homeostasis and regulates systemic lipid and glucose metabolism.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the two blood inflammatory markers including the systemic immune-inflammation (SII) index, and the system inflammation response index (SIRI). Methods: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data between the year of 2017–2018 was used for this cross-sectional study. In order to analyze the association of SII index, and SIRI and risk of NAFLD, we used multivariable logistic regression models, restricted cubic spline (RCS) plot, and subgroup analysis to analyze the data. Results: In total, there were 1,199 individuals who participated in the survey. As shown by the RCS plot, SII index, and SIRI were linked with NAFLD risk in a U-shaped pattern. With regard to known confounding variables, when comparing the lowest quartile, the odds ratio with 95 % confidence interval for prevalence of NAFLD across the quartiles of SII index and SIRI were (0.89 (0.57, 1.41), 0.56 (0.35, 0.89) and 1.01 (0.64, 1.59)), and (0.77 (0.48, 1.23), 0.79 (0.50, 1.24) and 0.94 (0.60, 1.47)), respectively. Additionally, SII index, and SIRI and NAFLD risk also were U-curve correlated among the participants in age ≥60 years, female, without hypertension, and BMI of ≥30 kg/m2. Conclusions: There was a U-shaped association of SII index and SIRI with prevalence of NAFLD, indicating that SII index and SIRI should be monitored dynamically.

Abstract Background Primary adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) of the tracheobronchial tree is very rare with a high risk for recurrence and metastasis. The diagnosis of AdCC by histologic and immunohistochemical means has been well studied clinically. However, the identification of AdCC by cytologic features remains elusive due to the atypical features the cancer presents. This study aimed to describe the cytologic features of AdCC by using bronchial brushing, which could aid in distinguishing AdCC from other pulmonary carcinomas. Methods The cytopathological features of bronchial brushing smears collected from seven cases were histologically diagnosed as AdCC. The defined cytologic features, which could potentially be diagnostic, were systemically analyzed. Results Four out of the seven cytologic cases were inconcordance with the histologic diagnosis and cytologically classified as positive for malignant cells, small cell carcinoma, or atypical cells. Three cases showed a characteristic adenoid structure and magenta stroma forming globule, which was distinguished from the four cases. Cytologically, the above mentioned three cases were uniform with relatively small bland nuclei and little cytoplasm. In this study, only one case showed atypical polygonal medium-sized cells with conspicuous nucleoli. Conclusions Unlike fine-needle aspiration cytology, magenta stroma globules might offer an alternate clue for cytodiagnosis of AdCC clinically. Bronchial brushings cytology was more present in bland uniform cells with high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratios and background mucoid substance. More cases should be collected and confirmed using histopathology with careful film reading to reduce the rate of misdiagnosis.

Abstract Introduction The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MP-AzeFlu nasal spray in comparison to commercially available azelastine hydrochloride and fluticasone propionate sprays in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis (AR). Methods We conducted a 14-day multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active controlled prospective clinical study in adult and adolescent patients with AR, who had moderate-to-severe symptoms. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from baseline in combined 12-h reflective total nasal symptom score (rTNSS) (morning [AM] + afternoon [PM]). The safety profile of the study medications was assessed through the recording, reporting, and analysis of baseline medical conditions, adverse events (AEs), vital signs, and focused nasal examination. Three hundred patients per treatment group were randomized, which led to a total sample size estimation of 900 patients. Results MP-AzeFlu group showed significantly higher symptom reduction for the entire 2-week treatment period in rTNSS when compared with the AZE group (LS mean difference: − 1.96; 95% CI: − 2.53, − 1.39; p

Abstract Objective Although several mucosal flap techniques have been reported to improve the outcomes in Draf IIb and Draf III procedures, there is scant knowledge on frontal ostium neo‐osteogenesis after reconstruction with mucosa flap. This study evaluates the potential benefits of mucosa flaps on frontal ostium neo‐osteogenesis after frontal sinus drill‐out procedures. Methods Forty‐three patients who underwent extended Draf IIb and Draf III were enrolled. Among them, 20 patients had frontal neo‐ostium (FNO) reconstructed by mucosal flap (group A), and 23 patients did not have neo‐ostium reconstruction (group B). The cross‐sectional area of FNO, frontonasal bone, and the amount of frontal neo‐osteogenesis (FNOG) were measured with OsiriX®. In addition, the Global Osteitis Scoring Scale (GOSS), Lund–Mackay score (LMS), and Lund–Kennedy score (LKS) were also evaluated. Results At one year postoperatively, the remaining neo‐ostium area was significantly larger in group A (p = .001), and group A had significantly less FNOG (p

Abstract Background Ossifying fibroma of the paranasal sinuses and skull base in paediatric patients is difficult to operate and can recur easily after surgery. This study aimed to analyse factors associated with recurrence after transnasal endoscopic resection of ossifying fibroma in paediatric patients. Methods This retrospective observational study included 34 patients under 17 years of age who underwent transnasal endoscopic resection of ossifying fibroma of the paranasal sinuses and skull base from 2005 to 2021 at a single tertiary medical centre. Clinical indicators such as age; surgical history; pathological type; intraoperative bleeding; and orbit, anterior skull base, sphenoid bone, sella turcica, clivus, or frontal sinus involvement were subjected to univariate analysis using the χ2 test, to investigate whether any of these factors affected recurrence. Results All 34 patients underwent transnasal endoscopic resection. The follow-up period was 6–120 months (mean: 48.0 months). Five patients experienced local recurrence during the follow-up period (14.7%). Results of χ2 tests indicated that a history of previous surgery, the amount of intraoperative bleeding, and sphenoid and/or sella turcica and clivus involvement were significantly associated with recurrence (P 0.05). Conclusions The increased risk of recurrence after transnasal endoscopic resection of nasal–skull base ossifying fibroma should be considered during endoscopic surgery in paediatric patients with a history of previous surgery, intraoperative bleeding tendency, and sphenoid and/or sella turcica and clivus involvement. These patients require careful postoperative follow-up.

In the context of ongoing global urbanization, the disparity in urban development, marked by the dual phenomena of urban sprawl and urban shrinkage at the regional level, has become increasingly evident. In this vein, two land-related governance strategies—smart growth (SG) and smart shrinkage (SS)—emerge as potential remedies to these challenges, targeting urban expansion and shrinkage, respectively. This study bridges the gap in the fragmented discourse surrounding SG and SS by conducting a comprehensive comparative review on the respective literatures. Utilizing the Scopus database, our research employs trend analysis, text and topic mining, time node analysis, and regional analysis, augmented by qualitative reviews of seminal papers. The findings reveal a notable shift in research focus, with interest in SS surging around 2010 (the number of SS-related papers published after 2010 accounts for 92.3% of the total number of the entire study period) as attention to SG waned, suggesting an impending paradigm shift in urban sustainability. The analysis indicates that SS research lacks the disciplinary diversity, thematic breadth, and empirical depth of SG studies, underscoring a need for a more robust theoretical foundation to support urban sustainability. Furthermore, while both SG and SS derive from environmental science foundations, SG predominantly addresses the physical and landscape attributes of urban areas, whereas SS focuses more on socio-economic dimensions. Our findings point to an intrinsic link between SG and SS, which could lay the groundwork for their integration into a unified theoretical framework to better advance urban sustainability.

Radar networking is an effective method to improve detection accuracy and fault tolerance in complex electromagnetism environment. It is necessary to study data fusion schemes which can address the challenges from interference and signal-to-noise ratio reduction. In this paper, a data fusion method for multiple-radar point fusion based on bayesian statistical theory is proposed. The multi-source data fusion method based on bayesian theory is combined with kalman filtering, with the prediction of kalman filter and its covariance as the prior knowledge for bayesian theory. The points of multiple-radar are regarded as the observation value of bayesian theory. A real-time estimation method for the standard deviations of radar points is also proposed based on signal-to-noise ratio. The simulation results show that the filtering accuracy of the proposed data fusion method is better than that of the individual radar track and track fusion, and it can adapt to changing standard deviations caused by target distance changing and RCS (Radar Cross-Section) fluctuating. The proposed method is of great value to area air defense.

Abstract Background Wild apple (Malus sieversii) is under second-class national protection in China and one of the lineal ancestors of cultivated apples worldwide. In recent decades, the natural habitation area of wild apple trees has been seriously declining, resulting in a lack of saplings and difficulty in population regeneration. Artificial near-natural breeding is crucial for protecting and restoring wild apple populations, and adding nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) is one of the important measures to improve the growth performance of saplings. In this study, field experiments using N (CK, N1, N2, and N3: 0, 10, 20, and 40 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively), P (CK, P1, P2, and P3: 0, 2, 4, and 8 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively), N20Px (CK, N2P1, N2P2, and N2P3: N20P2, N20P4 and N20P8 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively), and NxP4 (CK, N1P2, N2P2, and N3P2: N10P4, N20P4, and N40P4 g m− 2 yr− 1, respectively) treatments (totaling 12 levels, including one CK) were conducted in four consecutive years. The twig traits (including four current-year stem, 10 leaf, and three ratio traits) and comprehensive growth performance of wild apple saplings were analyzed under different nutrient treatments. Results N addition had a significantly positive effect on stem length, basal diameter, leaf area, and leaf dry mass, whereas P addition had a significantly positive effect on stem length and basal diameter only. The combination of N and P (NxP4 and N20Px) treatments evidently promoted stem growth at moderate concentrations; however, the N20Px treatment showed a markedly negative effect at low concentrations and a positive effect at moderate and high concentrations. The ratio traits (leaf intensity, leaf area ratio, and leaf to stem mass ratio) decreased with the increase in nutrient concentration under each treatment. In the plant trait network, basal diameter, stem mass, and twig mass were tightly connected to other traits after nutrient treatments, indicating that stem traits play an important role in twig growth. The membership function revealed that the greatest comprehensive growth performance of saplings was achieved after N addition alone, followed by that under the NxP4 treatment (except for N40P4). Conclusions Consequently, artificial nutrient treatments for four years significantly but differentially altered the growth status of wild apple saplings, and the use of appropriate N fertilizer promoted sapling growth. These results can provide scientific basis for the conservation and management of wild apple populations.

Exploring the effects of sowing date and ecological points on the yield of semi-winter wheat is of great significance. This study aims to reveal the effects of sowing date and ecological points on the climate resources associated with wheat yield in the Rice–Wheat Rotation System. With six sowing dates, the experiments were carried out in Donghai and Jianhu counties, Jiangsu Province, China using two semi-winter wheat varieties as the objects of this study. The basic seedlings of the first sowing date (S1) were planted at 300×104 plants ha−1, which was increased by 10% for each of the delayed sowing dates (S2–S6). The results showed that the delay of sowing date decreased the number of days, the effective accumulated temperature and the cumulative solar radiation in the whole growth period. The yields of S1 were higher than those of S2 to S6 by 0.22–0.31, 0.5–0.78, 0.86–0.98, 1.14–1.38, and 1.36–1.59 t ha–1, respectively. For a given sowing date, the growth days increased as the ecological point was moved north, while both mean daily temperature and effective accumulative temperature decreased, but the cumulative radiation increased. As a result, the yields at Donghai County were 0.01–0.39 t ha–1 lower than those of Jianhu County for the six sowing dates. The effective accumulative temperature and cumulative radiation both had significant positive correlations with yield. The average temperature was significantly negatively correlated with the yield. The decrease in grain yield was mainly due to the declines in grains per spike and 1 000-grain weight caused by the increase in the daily temperature and the decrease in the effective accumulative temperature.

In this paper, the evolution of the γ′ and η phases of new Ni–Co-based superalloy with different Nb contents was investigated using a combination of thermodynamic calculations and high-throughput selective laser melting (SLM). Thermodynamic calculations show that the increase of Nb content lowered the solubility temperature of the γ′ phase and caused the precipitation of the η phase. The alloys with the Nb gradient content prepared by SLM during aging at 800 °C for 100h indicated that the maximum volume fraction and size of the γ′ phase reach the maximum at 3.0–3.5% Nb. The elongated η phases enrichment in Ni, Ti, and Nb atoms precipitate for the Nb content higher than 2.2% Nb and prefer to grow longitudinally at the expense of the γ′ precipitates. Combining the influence of the Al/(Nb + Ta + Ti) ratio on the η precipitates, the addition of Nb content in the Ni–Co-based superalloys is less than 2.2%, which increases the high-temperature yield strength and tensile strength.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers for different pathological models because of their stable and detectable characters in biofluids. Here, we collected urine samples from 5 beagle dogs on the 3th, 6th, and 12th day in an acute kidney injury (AKI) caused by gentamycin. miRNA levels were measured with high-throughput sequencing and the results were then differentially investigated. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis were performed to analyze potential target genes corresponding to the differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs). Relationships between hub genes and DE-miRNAs were analyzed with STRING and Cytoscape. We identified 234 DE-miRNAs 3, 6, and 12 days after gentamycin treatment (p < 0.05). Top 10 up- and down-regulated candidate target genes of DE-miRNAs were predicted by overlapping TargetScan and miRanda results). GO and KEGG analyses for DE-miRNAs demonstrated that the DE-miRNAs target genes are mainly involved in kidney injury-related pathways, such as the insulin signaling pathway, oxytocin signaling pathway, and hedgehog signaling pathway. The network of miRNA-hub genes suggests that miR-452, miR-106a, and 106b participate in regulating the largest number of hub genes. We evaluated the miRNA signature via a canine model built by gentamycin-caused acute kidney injury. Our results represent a valuable resource for evaluating miRNAs as biomarkers of renal toxicity.

Introduction: The effective and persistent suppression of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in patients with chronic HBV infection (CHB) is considered to be a promising approach to achieve a functional cure of hepatitis B. In our previous study, we found that the antibody E6F6 can clear HBsAg through FcγR-mediated phagocytosis, and its humanized form (huE6F6 antibody) is expected to be a new tool for the treatment of CHB. Previous studies have shown that the glycosylation of Fc segments affects the binding of antibodies to FcγR and thus affects the biological activity of antibodies in vivo.Methods: To further improve the therapeutic potential of huE6F6, in this study, we defucosylated huE6F6 (huE6F6-fuc-), preliminarily explored the developability of this molecule, and studied the therapeutic potential of this molecule and its underlying mechanism in vitro and in vivo models.Results: huE6F6-fuc- has desirable physicochemical properties. Compared with huE6F6-wt, huE6F6-fuc- administration resulted in a stronger viral clearance in vivo. Meanwhile, huE6F6-fuc- keep a similar neutralization activity and binding activity to huE6F6-wt in vitro. Immunological analyses suggested that huE6F6-fuc- exhibited enhanced binding to hCD32b and hCD16b, which mainly contributed to its enhanced therapeutic activity in vivo.Conclusions: In summary, the huE6F6-fuc- molecule that was developed in this study, which has desirable developability, can clear HBsAg more efficiently in vivo, providing a promising treatment for CHB patients. Our study provides new guidance for antibody engineering in other disease fields.

Abstract In traditional two‐dimensional space object detection, it is believed that ‘objects with similar shapes belong to the same type’, making it difficult to distinguish true and false targets. In order to improve the efficiency of real object localization and detection, a specific target localization and authenticity recognition method (STLAR) based on joint spatial and spectral information is proposed. Firstly, the ground imaging spectrometer is utilized to obtain hyperspectral image data of the area to be measured. Then use a spatial object detection model to frame specific targets. Finally, compare the similarity between specific targets detected in space and prior spectral information. The experimental results successfully completed the task of target localization and recognition of authenticity. The proposed method can simultaneously solve the problems of spectral dimension detection or spatial dimension detection, providing new ideas for future rapid localization and recognition of specific targets.

Objective: Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) accounts for approximately 50%–70% of all dementia cases and poses a significant burden on existing medical systems. Identifying an optimal strategy for preventing VCI and developing efficient symptomatic treatments remains a significant challenge. Syndrome differentiation represents a fundamental approach for personalized diagnosis and treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and aligns with the principles of precision medicine. The objective of this study was to elucidate the metabolic characteristics of VCI based on TCM syndrome differentiation, thus providing novel insights into the diagnosis and treatment of VCI.Methods: A 2-year cross-sectional cognitive survey was conducted in four communities in Beijing between September 2020 and November 2022. The syndrome differentiation of participants was based on the Kidney-Yang Deficiency Syndrome Scale (KYDSS), which was originally developed by Delphi expert consultation. The identification of serum metabolites was performed by Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis coupled with an electrospray ionization quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ESI-QTOF MS). Multivariate, univariate, and pathway analyses were used to investigate metabolic changes. Logistic regression models were also used to construct metabolite panels that were capable of discerning distinct groups. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) levels were measured by a commercial ELISA kit.Results: A total of 2,337 residents completed the survey, and the prevalence of VCI was 9.84%. Of the patients with VCI, those with Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome (VCIS) accounted for 70.87% of cases and exhibited more severe cognitive impairments. A total of 80 participants were included in metabolomics study, including 30 with VCIS, 20 without Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome (VCINS), and 30 healthy control participants (C). Ultimately, 45 differential metabolites were identified when comparing the VCIS group with group C, 65 differential metabolites between the VCINS group and group C, and 27 differential metabolites between the VCIS group and the VCINS group. The downregulation of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) along with the upregulation of lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), phosphatidic acid (PA) and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) can be considered as the general metabolic characteristics associated with VCI. Dysfunction of glycerophospholipids, particularly LPEs and PCs, was identified as a key metabolic characteristic of VCIS. In particular Glycerophospho-N-Arachidonoyl Ethanolamine (GP-NArE) was discovered for the first time in VCI patients and is considered to represent a potential biomarker for VCIS. The upregulation of PLA2 expression was implicated in the induction of alterations in glycerophospholipid metabolism in both VCIS and VCINS. Moreover, robust diagnostic models were established based on these metabolites, achieving high AUC values of 0.9322, 0.9550, and 0.9450, respectively.Conclusion: These findings contribute valuable information relating to the intricate relationship between metabolic disorders in VCI, neurodegeneration and vascular/neuroinflammation. Our findings also provide a TCM perspective for the precise diagnosis and treatment of VCI in the context of precision medicine.

ABSTRACTWith the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of various SARS-CoV-2 variants, a comprehensive evaluation of long-term efficacy of antibody response in convalescent individuals is urgently needed. Several longitudinal studies had reported the antibody dynamics after SARS-CoV-2 acute infection, but the follow-up was mostly limited to 1 year or 18 months at the maximum. In this study, we investigated the durability, potency, and susceptibility to immune evasion of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody in COVID-19 convalescents for 2 years after discharge. These results showed the persistent antibody-dependent immunity could protect against the WT and Delta variant to some extent. However, the Omicron variants (BA.1, BA.2, and BA.4/5) largely escaped this preexisting immunity in recovered individuals. Furthermore, we revealed that inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV, CoronaVac, or KCONVAC) could improve the plasma neutralization and help to maintain the broadly neutralizing antibodies at a certain level. Notably, with the time-dependent decline of antibody, 1-dose or 2-dose vaccination strategy seemed not to be enough to provide immune protection against the emerging variants. Overall, these results facilitated our understanding of SARS-CoV-2-induced antibody memory, contributing to the development of immunization strategy against SARS-CoV-2 variants for such a large number of COVID-19 survivors.

Emission trading policies can provide environmental incentives for businesses, leading to a reduction in pollution emissions and promoting sustainable environmental development. Previous research indicated the significant impact of market-based environmental regulations on emission reduction by businesses, however, there is a lack of in-depth examination from the perspective of overall corporate management efficiency. In this study, we conducted research using the 2007 SO 2 emission trading pilot program as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate the mechanisms and effects of emission trading systems on corporate resource allocation efficiency. The study found that the implementation of emission trading systems significantly improves corporate resource allocation efficiency. Furthermore, through market regulation and administrative supervision mechanisms, corporate resource allocation efficiency can be further enhanced. However, emission trading systems have heterogeneous effects on resource allocation efficiency, with a stronger promotion effect on optimizing resource allocation in cases of greater financing constraints and higher levels of corporate governance. This study provides important policy insights for further promoting market-based environmental regulation reforms and improving corporate resource allocation efficiency.

Soil nutrients in desert ecosystems are influenced by various factors, and the presence of moss crust cover plays a significant role in determining the nutritional content of the surface soil. Moss crusts are distributed as patches within desert ecosystems, creating micro-ecosystems. However, the distribution pattern of soil nutrients under moss crust cover and the impact of patch size on soil nutrient content remain unclear. In this study, we assessed the patch size of mosses in field sites within the Gurbantünggüt Desert and investigated the content of total carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), organic carbon (OC), ammonium (NH4+-N), nitrate (NO3–-N), and available phosphorus (AP) in both surface soil and sub surface soil. We employed linear and structural equation models to examine the regulatory effect of moss crust patch size on soil nutrient content. Our findings revealed that the C and N contents were significantly higher in the surface soil compared to the sub surface soil, while the AP content was significantly higher in the sub surface soil than in the surface soil. Additionally, a significant negative correlation was observed between the N content and patch area of the topsoil in 83% of the sample sites. Climate, soil properties, and moss patch size collectively influenced the multifunctionality of both surface soil and sub surface soil. Climatic factors exerted a greater impact on the surface soil, while soil properties and moss patch size had a stronger influence on the sub surface soil. These findings emphasize the variability in nutrient characteristics between the surface and sub surface soils of biocrusts, highlighting the influence of crust patch size on the nutrient characteristics and functions of desert soils. These insights have practical implications for land management and conservation strategies in arid regions, providing valuable knowledge for sustainable resource utilization and environmental preservation.

Based on the slice theory and numerical calculation methods, the time varying meshing stiffness (TVMS) calculation method of the gear pair was constructed for the helical gear pair of a electric continuously variable transmission (ECVT), and the TVMS of the helical gear were calculated under different constant and time-varying torque in this study. The obtained stiffness values were introduced into the established dynamics model of helical gear system, and the influence of changed TVMS, resulting from the variable speed and torque, on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of gear pair was analyzed using the Runge-Kutta method. The results show that the proposed TVMS calculation method is very effective in computing the TVMS of helical gear pair under time-varying condition. The TVMS and dynamic transmission error (DTE) increase as the torque increase, and vice versa. Meanwhile, the system exhibits a diverse range of periodic, sub-harmonic, and chaotic behaviors at high speed and at low speed when torque is low, whereas not appear at steady high torque under low speed range. This study offers a method for gaining the TVMS of helical gear pair to analyze the dynamic characteristics of gear pair under actual working condition, and the influence of torque that change with the speed ratio on the dynamic performance of a gear system should be considered in the industrial applications.

Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuel is emerging advanced fuel material for the future nuclear reactors. The fuel pellet in the FCM fuel is composed of matrix and a large number of TRistructural-ISOtopic (TRISO) fuel particles which are randomly dispersed in the SiC matrix. The minimum layer thickness in a TRISO fuel particle is on the order of 10−5 m, and the length of the FCM pellet is on the order of 10−2 m. Hence, the heat transfer in the FCM pellet is a multi-scale phenomenon. In this study, three multi-scale heat conduction models including the Multi-region Layered (ML) model, Multi-region Non-layered (MN) model and Homogeneous model for FCM pellet were constructed. In the ML model, the random distributed TRISO fuel particles and coating layers are completely built. While the TRISO fuel particles with coating layers are homogenized in the MN model and the whole fuel pellet is taken as the homogenous material in the Homogeneous model.Taking the results by the ML model as the benchmark, the abilities of the MN model and Homogenous model to predict the maximum and average temperature were discussed. It was found that the MN model and the Homogenous model greatly underestimate the temperature of TRISO fuel particles. The reason is mainly that the conventional equivalent thermal conductivity (ETC) models do not take the internal heat source into account and are not suitable for the TRISO fuel particle. Then the improved ETCs considering internal heat source were derived. With the improved ETCs, the MN model is able to capture the peak temperature as well as the average temperature at a wide range of the linear powers (165 W/cm∼ 415 W/cm) and the packing fractions (20%–50%). With the improved ETCs, the Homogenous model is better to predict the average temperature at different linear powers and packing fractions, and able to predict the peak temperature at high packing fractions (45%–50%).

Groundwater flow through fractured rocks has been recognized as an important issue in many geotechnical engineering practices. Several key aspects of fundamental mechanisms, numerical modeling and engineering applications of flow in fractured rocks are discussed. First, the microscopic mechanisms of fluid flow in fractured rocks, especially under the complex conditions of non-Darcian flow, multiphase flow, rock dissolution, and particle transport, have been revealed through a combined effort of visualized experiments and theoretical analysis. Then, laboratory and field methods of characterizing hydraulic properties (e.g. intrinsic permeability, inertial permeability, and unsaturated flow parameters) of fractured rocks in different flow regimes have been proposed. Subsequently, high-performance numerical simulation approaches for large-scale modeling of groundwater flow in fractured rocks and aquifers have been developed. Numerical procedures for optimization design of seepage control systems in various settings have also been proposed. Mechanisms of coupled hydro-mechanical processes and control of flow-induced deformation have been discussed. Finally, three case studies are presented to illustrate the applications of the improved theoretical understanding, characterization methods, modeling approaches, and seepage and deformation control strategies to geotechnical engineering projects.

As an emerging information technology, big data has been widely used in all aspects of life. As for the application of big data technology in dietary nutrition and health, it revolves mainly around the combination of nutrition, medicine and other relevant disciplines, during which big data technology is adopted to mine and analyze data for the provision of personalized information services tailored to personal physiological indicators. With the core collection of Web of Science and CNKI Chinese database as data sources, and VOSviewer is applied in this paper to analyze the annual volume of publication and the keywords of relevant literature on big data as well as dietary nutrition and health published over the past 10 years. Then, the application of big data technology in the field of dietary nutrition and health and the challenges arising from this field are summarized and analyzed. Finally, the future trend of big data research in the field of dietary nutrition and health is indicated, which would provide guidance for the in-depth research and application of big data technology in this field.

In a tritium-breeding blanket of a fusion reaction, helium, used as a tritium-purging gas, will purge the tritium breeder pebble beds to extract the tritium in blanket. The purge gas flow characteristics will affect the tritium extraction efficiency. The effect of the fixed wall on the pebble packing structures and purge gas flow characteristics was investigated by combining the discrete element method (DEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The results indicate that the fixed wall leads to a regular packing of the pebbles adjacent to the fixed wall in association with drastic fluctuations in the porosity of the pebble bed, which can affect the purge gas flow behaviors. Further analyses of helium flow behaviors show that the helium pressure in the pebble bed decreases in a linear manner along the flow direction, whereas the pressure drop gradient of helium increases gradually with an increase in the packing factor. The reduction in porosity in the pebble bed leads to a notable escalation in helium flow velocity. Concerning the direction perpendicular to the helium gas flow, the evolution of the cut-plane averaged velocity of helium is similar to that of the porosity, except in the region immediately adjacent to the wall. The pressure drop and flow characteristics obtained in this study can serve as input for the thermohydraulic analysis of the tritium blowing systems in the tritium-breeding blanket of a fusion reactor.

The flow characteristics of purge gas helium in the pebble bed of the tritium breeding blanket are important in analyzing the tritium purging process and optimizing the design of the solid breeder blanket. Therefore, the flow characteristics of helium gas in randomly packed pebble beds are investigated experimentally with a focus on the analysis of the pressure loss distribution. The results show that gas velocity, bed dimension, and pebble diameters have an obvious influence on the helium flow characteristics in pebble beds. With the increase in the inlet helium gas velocity, the pressure drop gradient of helium in the pebble bed gradually increased. With increases in the pebble bed dimension, the pressure drop gradient of helium in the pebble bed gradually increased. With the increase in the pebble diameter, the pressure drop gradient gradually decreased. In addition, the effect of temperature on the pressure drop of helium in the pebble bed was also preliminarily investigated. The pressure drop gradient of the helium through the pebble bed obviously increased with the increase in the helium and the bed temperature. The experimentally obtained pressure loss characteristics can be used for the validation of the simulation of a blanket pebble bed and as input parameters in the thermo-hydraulic analysis of solid-tritium breeder blankets.