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To assess the added value of neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) compared with conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and anatomical MRI to detect changes in presymptomatic carriers of chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (The PREV-DEMALS (Predict to Prevent Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) study is a prospective, multicentre, observational study of first-degree relatives of individuals carrying theCompared withNODDI provides higher sensitivity and greater tissue specificity compared with conventional DTI for identifying white matter abnormalities in the presymptomaticNCT02590276.

Supercritical CO2 extraction possesses the advantages of high efficiency, energy saving, cleanness, gentle operation conditions and the like, which attracts more and more attention, and gradually becomes one of the green technologies that replace the traditional solvent methods in the extraction of active substances. In order to further understand the application status of supercritical CO2 extraction technology, this thesis introduces the principle of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technology. Based on the types of extractive natural products, the application of the technology in plant essential oil, natural pigment and alkaloid extraction is also reviewed. The thesis describes the advantages of this technology compared with the traditional solvent methods, and prospects its application foreground of industrialization, which provides the references for the application of supercritical CO2 extraction technique in natural products.

Using in thermal load dominant mode will restrict the flexible output of the micro-combustion engine for the combined heat and power supply system (CCHP), this paper established a joint model of multi-energy flow micro-grid for intelligent community combined with the time-sharing price response and compression chiller. The mathematical model of the maximum integrated operating income of the system, which is based on the installation of the compression chiller to decouple the system cooling and consider the influence of the time-sharing price on user's electrical habits. And the Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA) is used to optimize the cooling load model after the user load response. The results show that the SFLA algorithm can obtain the faster global optimal solution and the better fitness value of the model.

Background Pear (Pyrus) is a globally grown fruit, with thousands of cultivars in five domesticated species and dozens of wild species. However, little is known about the evolutionary history of these pear species and what has contributed to the distinct phenotypic traits between Asian pears and European pears. Results We report the genome resequencing of 113 pear accessions from worldwide collections, representing both cultivated and wild pear species. Based on 18,302,883 identified SNPs, we conduct phylogenetics, population structure, gene flow, and selective sweep analyses. Furthermore, we propose a model for the divergence, dissemination, and independent domestication of Asian and European pears in which pear, after originating in southwest China and then being disseminated throughout central Asia, has eventually spread to western Asia, and then on to Europe. We find evidence for rapid evolution and balancing selection for S-RNase genes that have contributed to the maintenance of self-incompatibility, thus promoting outcrossing and accounting for pear genome diversity across the Eurasian continent. In addition, separate selective sweep signatures between Asian pears and European pears, combined with co-localized QTLs and differentially expressed genes, underline distinct phenotypic fruit traits, including flesh texture, sugar, acidity, aroma, and stone cells. Conclusions This study provides further clarification of the evolutionary history of pear along with independent domestication of Asian and European pears. Furthermore, it provides substantive and valuable genomic resources that will significantly advance pear improvement and molecular breeding efforts. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13059-018-1452-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Although the field of Human Resource Management has been extensively studied in the previous decades, still remaining theoretical and methodological questions are yet to be answered. These questions were found to evolve around how to conceptualize and operationalize HRM as well as the mechanism through which HRM affects performance. Consequently, numerous models were proposed to address these questions and among which the AMO model is considered the one that grasp the attention of many scholars. The current study, therefore, aims to address these questions by investigating the mediating effect of employees’ Ability (A), Motivation (M), and Opportunity to participate (O) model on the relationship between HRM system and employees’ affective commitment. An abstract level of HRM system was operationalized and hypothesized to have an indirect effect on employees’ affective commitment via the AMO model. A cross-sectional data was gathered through a questionnaire survey distributed to 800 employees working in the telecommunications sector in Kuwait. Structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS22 was used to build and test the hypothesized model. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has revealed that the abstract level HRM system is better conceptualized as having three categories namely, Skill enhancing HRM practices, Motivation enhancing HRM practices, and Empowerment enhancing HRM practices. Moreover, the results have indicated that HRM system significantly and positively affect employees’ ability, motivation, and opportunity to participate. More importantly, the results have supported that the relationship between HRM system and employees’ affective commitment is partially mediated by the AMO model. This study has contributed to the field of Human Resource Management by empirically justifying the critical role that employees’ ability, motivation, and opportunity to participate (AMO) have in increasing employees’ affective commitment. Accordingly, the current study is directing the attention of the telecommunications companies’ managers toward designing their HRM system in ways that increase the three dimensions of the AMO model, which inn turn could result in increased level of commitment.

To study structural seakeeping stability of the marine compound NC machine tool in the ship environment, this research analyses the effects of extreme wave loads including transient slamming and harmonic swings on the machine tool, and the coupling methods of transient reaction, static structural analysis and harmonic response are used to solve the problems. The results show that the major guide pairs of the column are the weakest parts in the machine tool in a ship environment, so the column working deflection angle of the machine tool should be consistent with the ship heading angle to reduce influence of wave loads on dynamic stability of the machine. The data indicate that the minimum safety factor is 3.43 under an extreme surge acceleration of 41.8 m/s2, and the normal safety factor of 3.0 shows that the guide pairs are able to endure extreme slamming wave loads of H1/3=7.6 m at the maximum velocity of the ship. In addition, the machine tool has a maximum deformation of 0.032 mm and a peak stress of 5.07 MPa under extreme harmonic wave excitation. Importantly, the machine's cutting accuracy was suitable for the rapid manufacturing requirement to maintain a ship's broken components.

Isolated left ventricular (LV) apical hypoplasia is a unusual and recently recognized congenital cardiac anomaly. A 19-year-old man was found to have an abnormal ECG and cardiac murmur identified during a routine health check since joining work. His ECG revealed normal sinus rhythm, right-axis deviation, poor R wave progression, and T wave abnormalities. On physical examination, a 2/6～3/6 systolic murmur was heard at the second intercostal space along the left sternal border. Subsequent echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the LV apical hypoplasia. Of note, we first found that LV apical hypoplasia was accompanied by RV outflow tract obstruction due to exaggerated rightward bulging of the basal-anterior septum during systole. A close follow-up was performed for the development of heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and potentially tachyarrhythmia.

Research interest in Chinese businesses in Africa has surged in recent years. While state-owned firms have attracted considerable attention regarding the motives of their investment, relatively few studies have examined the strategy of the state-owned Chinese firms and human resource management (HRM) implications. Similarly, the causes underlying the expansion of Chinese mining firms internationally and the effects of management are yet to be adequately addressed in the international management literature. This study fills these research gaps through the investigation of the international expansion motives of four state-owned mining firms, the strategy adopted to facilitate this expansion and the HRM implications. Drawing on institutional theory and data from 39 interviews with government officials, managers and Chinese expatriates, factors such as why and how different institutional actors interact with each other at the strategic and operational levels to shape the Chinese mining firms’ business opportu...

Arc spraying of Fe-Al-based coatings is widely used in for remanufacturing and other requirements due to its high performance; however, the bond strength between coating and substrate is about 50 MPa, so the changes therein are important in the cutting process. Moreover, such coatings are thin, and their surface is coarse, so this predefines two cutting steps in any subsequent machining process. It indicates that three factors affect the bond strength including the following: machine tool natural vibration, cutting tool regenerative vibration, and forced vibration due to the rough surface. This work presents a spindle-tool-workpiece vibration model of the coating machining process and studies the effects of transient cutting force, residual stress, and cutting parameters on the bond strength. The results show that the transient maximum influence of cutting force on the bond strength is 7.27 MPa, and the residual stress affects the material to a depth of 1.6 mm. Then, a bond strength calculation model was obtained to calculate the bond strength reduction as induced by choice of cutting parameters. The calculation model was verified experimentally, and it was shown that cutting depth was the main factor affecting bond strength. Combined with SEM inspection, this work showed that the interface gap was amplified during cutting. Importantly, to achieve the necessary bond strength, the first cutting depth should be less than 0.1 mm (allowing for the surface dimensional difference), and the cutting depth of other cutting steps should be less than 0.2 mm; in addition, the finishing coating thickness should be more than 0.2 mm.

The arc-spraying Fe–Al-based coating cutting process is a spindle-tool-workpiece vibration system dependent upon the machine tool's dynamic performance, cutting tool vibration, the coarse coating surface and its thin cutting depth. To investigate the cutting force, this research indicates the coating cutting fundamental mechanics; furthermore, it represents two cutting steps and cutting force models in the machining process avoiding an analysis of the natural vibration parameters of the machine tool itself. In the first cutting step, there is a transient cutting force due to forced vibration of the rough surface; the second cutting step has a steady machining feature based on the first cutting surface and the reduced hardness of the inhomogeneous region. According to the different characteristics of each cutting step, this research presents dynamic cutting calculation models including cutting parameters, tool vibration and cutting depth effects in the first cutting step. A steady cutting model is based on three cutting parameters including cutting velocity, cutting feed and cutting depth. Piezoelectric force and acceleration sensors were used to obtain accurate experimental data. Then, response surface methodology (RSM) and the principle of least squares estimation of polynomial regression (PLSEPR) were applied to analyse the resultant cutting data. The results showed that cutting force calculation models were suitable for the coating machining.

In this study, we aimed to (1) identify white matter (WM) deficits underlying the consciousness level in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and (2) evaluate the relationship between DTI metrics and clinical measures of the consciousness level in DOC patients. With a cohort of 8 comatose, 8 unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state, and 14 minimally conscious state patients and 25 patient controls, we performed group comparisons of the DTI metrics in 48 core WM regions of interest (ROIs), and examined the clinical relevance using correlation analysis. We identified multiple abnormal WM ROIs in DOC patients compared with normal controls, and the DTI metrics in these ROIs were significantly correlated with clinical measures of the consciousness level. Therefore, our findings suggested that multiple WM tracts are involved in the impaired consciousness levels in DOC patients and demonstrated the clinical relevance of DTI for DOC patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12264-018-0253-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The energy balancing concept seeks to reduce actuation requirements for a morphing structure by strategically locating negative stiffness devices to tailor the required deployment forces and moments. One such device is the spiral pulley negative stiffness mechanism. This uses a cable connected with a pre-tension spring to covert decreasing spring force into increasing balanced torque. The kinematics of the spiral pulley are firstly developed and its geometry is then optimised by employing an energy conversion efficiency function. The performance of the optimised spiral pulley is then evaluated through the net torque, the total required energy and energy conversion efficiency. An experiment demonstrates the negative stiffness property of the mechanism and compares its characteristics with the analytical result. Exploiting the negative stiffness mechanism has a significant interest in not only the field of morphing aircraft but many other power reduction applications.an increasing output torque. The kinematics of the spiral pulley are firstly developed and its geometry is then optimised by employing an energy conversion efficiency function. The performance of the optimised spiral pulley is then evaluated through the net torque, the total required energy and energy conversion efficiency. An experiment demonstrates the negative stiffness property of the mechanism and compares its characteristics with the analytical result. Exploiting the negative stiffness mechanism has a significant interest in not only the field of morphing aircraft but also many other energy and power reduction applications.

Despite the promising relationship that has been reported between HRM and Organization Performance (OP) in the last two decades, it is found that good HRM system and practices do not directly lead to better organization performance. However, questions remain about what factors mediate the HRM-OP relationship, which is commonly referred to as the “black box”. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to develop and propose a conceptual model that captures the mediating effects of organizational factors such as “AMO” (skills and Abilities, Motivation, and Opportunity to participate), employees’ attitudes, and employees’ behaviors on the relationship between the HRM system and organizational performance. The proposed model intends to integrate both the content and the process approach to HRM. The paper, as a part of a project, uses an operationalization method to develop a theory-based model. The model development process involves a large amount of review of the literature in the field of HRM and OP. Analysis of the key concepts is conducted. The potential association and relationship among the factors are identified through integration of the findings in the mainstream literature. In the second stage of the project, the proposed model will be empirically tested by quantitative method. A questionnaire survey will be carried out to collect primary data using random sampling method. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique will be utilized for data analysis. Validity and reliability tests will be performed. Drawing on literature review, this paper supports the assertion that the impact of HRM on OP is indirect. Such impacts are achieved through its impacts on employees. Based on the operationalization, a conceptual framework is presented to represent the mediating effects of the factors on the relationship between the HRM system and organizational performance. The proposed framework argues that employees’ AMO, attitudes and behavior should be sequentially considered as the mediating factors in the HRM-OP relationship. Moreover, shared perceptions among employees (strong climate) towards the HRM system should have a significant moderating effect on the HRM-AMO relationship. It is expected that the findings from this paper and project can partially unlock the “black box” in the HRM-OP relationship. The proposed framework can help organizations realize that good HRM policy does not directly lead to expected OP. Policies and systems should be in place to monitor whether and how HRM system help achieve OP through its influences on employees.

To identify the critical factors impacting the number concentration of particles with the aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5μm (PNC2.5), the continuous measurement of PNC2.5, chemical components in PM2.5, gaseous pollutants and meteorological conditions were conducted at an urban site in Tianjin in June 2015. Results indicated that the average PNC2.5 was 2839±2430 dN/dlogDp 1/cm3 during the campaign. Compared to other meteorological parameters, the relative humidity (RH) had the strongest relationship with PNC2.5, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.53, and RH larger than 30% influenced strongly PNC2.5. The important influence of secondary reactions on PNC2.5 was inferred due to higher correlation coefficients between PNC2.5 and SO42-, NO3-, NH4+ (r=0.78-0.89; p

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with extensive alterations in grey matter microstructure, but our ability to quantify this in vivo is limited. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) is a multi‐shell diffusion MRI technique that estimates neuritic microstructure in the form of orientation dispersion and neurite density indices (ODI/NDI). Mean values for cortical thickness, ODI, and NDI were extracted from predefined regions of interest in the cortical grey matter of 38 patients with young onset AD and 22 healthy controls. Five cortical regions associated with early atrophy in AD (entorhinal cortex, inferior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and precuneus) and one region relatively spared from atrophy in AD (precentral gyrus) were investigated. ODI, NDI, and cortical thickness values were compared between controls and patients for each region, and their associations with MMSE score were assessed. NDI values of all regions were significantly lower in patients. Cortical thickness measurements were significantly lower in patients in regions associated with early atrophy in AD, but not in the precentral gyrus. Decreased ODI was evident in patients in the inferior and middle temporal gyri, fusiform gyrus, and precuneus. The majority of AD‐related decreases in cortical ODI and NDI persisted following adjustment for cortical thickness, as well as each other. There was evidence in the patient group that cortical NDI was associated with MMSE performance. These data suggest distinct differences in cortical NDI and ODI occur in AD and these metrics provide pathologically relevant information beyond that of cortical thinning.

This study investigates whether bovine longissimus muscle cell apoptosis occurs during postmortem aging and whether apoptosis is dependent on the mitochondria pathway. This study also determines the apoptosis process mediated by cytochrome c after its release from mitochondria and the factors that affect the activation processes. Results indicate that apoptotic nuclei were detected at 12 h postmortem. Cytochrome c release from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm activated the caspase-9 and caspase-3 at early postmortem aging and the activation of caspase-9 occurs before the activation of caspase-3. The pH level decreased during the first 48 h postmortem, whereas the mitochondria membrane permeability increased from 6 to 12 h. Results demonstrate that an apoptosis process of bovine muscle occurred during postmortem aging. Apoptosis was dependent on the mitochondria pathway and occurred at early postmortem aging. Increased mitochondria membrane permeability and low pH are necessary conditions for the release of cytochrome c during postmortem aging.

A 52-year-old man with a history of factor V Leiden thrombophilia, persistent headaches and papilloedema presented with worsening vision and confusion. MRI and MR angiography of the brain at the time of this presentation showed findings concerning for transverse sinus thrombosis and an associated dural arteriovenous fistula. Dural venous sinus thrombosis can lead to the formation of a dural arteriovenous fistula, which must be considered in the differential diagnosis for intracranial hypertension in patients with thrombophilia.

In order to improve the measurement accuracy of the laser displacement sensor, the laser triangulation displacement measuring system is established. The spot subdivision location algorithms of the system are studied, such as the Gaussian curve fitting, traditional gray weighted centroid and gray square weighted centroid. First, according to the principle of laser triangulation, the displacement measuring system is built. Then, objects are moved by the high-precision motorized stage, obtaining multiple sets of image data. Next, these data respectively are processed by the above several algorithms to obtain the corresponding coordinates of the laser spot, the system is calibrated respectively. Finally, comparing the displacement of calibration results calculating with the actual displacement. The results show that: those data that are processed by the gray square weighted centroid are used to calibrate , calculating the minimum error, and is 71.1 μm. It concludes that gray square weighted centroid is an ideal location segmentation method, which is not only simple and easy to implement, but also has a higher positioning accuracy.

Since the coherent noise affected the quality of the Fizeau’s interferograms in the large aperture, the coherence of the beam was changed by rotated diffuser to reduce the noise of the interfering system. The relationships between the frequency of the rotated diffuser, the contrast of the fringes and the SNR of the system were simulated. Then, the control parameters of rotated diffuser would be required in the optimum interference fringe. The interference images were obtained under different control parameters, and the fringe contrast and system SNR of each image were analyzed. The results showed that the contrast can be reduced by choosing the proper frequency of the rotated diffuser in a certain extent, but the SNR can be improved effectively and it was convenient to process the interference image later.

Linear frequency modulated (LFM) pulses are used as excitation sources for the ultrasonic nondestructive testing of metallic materials. The detection resolution relies on both the bandwidth of the LFM pulse and the amplitude spectrum of the transducer. A bandwidth selection method to analyze the effect of the LFM bandwidth on the inspection results was proposed, as well as to select an optimized LFM bandwidth corresponding to different transducers. Meanwhile, an ultrasonic through- transmission technique to test four different pairs of transducers excited by LFM signals with different bandwidth was used. Experimental results show that the time resolution significantly improves with an increase in the LFM bandwidth. Optimum parameter is achieved when the LFM bandwidth is close to the $$-$$ 12 dB bandwidth $$B_{-12\hbox {dB}}$$ of the transducer, and it then remains roughly stationary. The results were confirmed by carrying out ultrasonic LFM time-of flight diffraction (LFM-TOFD) testing for a steel plate with three buried defects employing a pair of 10 MHz transducers. The waveforms of the echoes extracted from these defects become narrower with an increase in the exciting bandwidth. In addition, the diffracted waves from the upper and lower tips of the 2 mm defect can be distinguished when the LFM bandwidth is close to the $$-$$ 12 dB bandwidth of the 10 MHz transducer. The proposed bandwidth selection method can enhance the efficiency and precision of the actual ultrasonic LFM detection and is suitable for different ultrasonic testing systems, transducers and inspection requirements.

The Chinese logistics service market is a vibrant and highly contested arena. The industry, however, has been characterised as operationally inefficient in comparison with those of the developed economies. Shortage of logistics human resources and lack of logistics expertise have been identified as two of the key contributory factors. Based on responses from 76 Chinese logistics service providers to a survey conducted in 2010, this study explores whether, and how, four sets of human resource management (HRM) practices contribute to nurturing three logistics and supply chain (L&SC) competencies in the Chinese logistics service market. Results from a hierarchical multiple regression analysis show that not all HRM practices were equally effective in building L&SC competencies. While training and development, and recruitment and selection were significant in contributing to nurturing the three L&SC competencies, both performance management and reward management did not. These findings suggest that conventiona...

Background and Purpose— Leukoaraiosis (LA) predominantly affects the subcortical white matter, but mounting evidence suggests an association with cortical microvascular dysfunction and potentially decreased cortical ischemic tolerance. Thus, we sought to assess whether preexisting LA is predictive of the cortical infarct volume after middle cerebral artery branch occlusion and whether it relates to a worse outcome. Methods— We analyzed data from 117 consecutive patients with middle cerebral artery branch occlusion as documented by admission computed tomography angiography. Baseline clinical, laboratory, and outcome data, as well as final cortical infarct volumes, were retrospectively analyzed from a prospectively collected database. LA severity was assessed on admission computed tomography using the van Swieten scale grading the supratentorial white matter hypoattenuation. Infarct volume predicting a favorable 90-day outcome (modified Rankin Scale score ≤2) was determined by receiver operating characteristic curves. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors of the final infarct volume and outcome. Results— Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that a final infarct volume of ≤27 mL best predicted a favorable 90-day outcome. Severe LA (odds ratio, 11.231; 95% confidence interval, 2.526–49.926; P =0.001) was independently associated with infarct volume >27 mL. Severe LA (odds ratio, 3.074; 95% confidence interval, 1.055–8.961; P =0.040) and infarct volume >27 mL (odds ratio, 9.156; 95% confidence interval, 3.191–26.270; P Conclusions— The presence of severe, subcortical LA contributes to larger cortical infarct volumes and worse functional outcomes adding to the notion that the brain is negatively affected beyond LA’s macroscopic boundaries.

Since the international financial crisis, the issue of industrial transfer has received increasing attention. This paper makes full use of the data advantages of the industry’s electricity consumption, builds an industrial transfer index, and measures and analyzes the industrial transfer trends of various provinces. The study found that the industrial transfer in Hebei Province in the eastern region is more obvious. There are more industries that are transferring in the central and western provinces, and the industrial transferring in the northeast region is less obvious. The number of provinces in which industries has transferred out relatively is small, and there is relatively large number of industries that transferring out of the coastal provinces.

The phenomenon of bi-stable behaviour has been widely used in the structural design, as it can provide large deformation by switching between two stable equilibrium positions. This paper aims to investigate the intrinsic nonlinear dynamic characteristics of an actively controlled bistable beam using a simplified spring-mass model. The dynamic model for an active (heated) SMA wire driven bistable beam is established based on a polynomial constitutive equation to describe the thermomechanical behaviour of the shape memory alloy. The actively controlled bistable beams are designed, fabricated and experimentally tested to achieve the morphing behaviour snapping-through form one position to another. The results obtained from the experimental testing and the theoretical simulation are compared to validate the proposed model. Dynamic behavior of the proposed SMA wires actuated bistable beam under varying external excitation is investigated to show the influence of the thermomechanical loadings. Analysis of the experimental data and simulation results shows that the SMA wires actuated bistable structure can be well-performed for the bistable switching. It also approved that the different behaviours of the system, including periodic responses, complex responses and chaos can be accurately predicted using the proposed simplified model.

Several Ni–Mo based catalysts with Mo content from 1 wt% to 7 wt% were prepared by the impregnation method with MCM-41 as the support. The effect of Mo content on the activity of the catalyst was investigated for syngas methanation in a fixed-bed reactor. The addition of MoO3 could obviously improve catalytic activity of Ni/M catalyst at low temperature of 250 °C with the CO conversion and the CH4 selectivity from about 20%, 16% to 100%, about 80%, respectively. Ni–3%Mo/M catalyst showed the best activity with a CO conversion of 100% and a CH4 selectivity of 94% at 350 °C under 1.0 MPa and 12000 ml/g/h with a 3:1 molar ratio of H2 to CO. Compared with Ni/M catalyst, Ni–Mo/M catalysts showed higher resistance to sintering and no decrease in the catalytic activity after calcination at 700 °C for 2 h. In the 100 h stability test under atmospheric pressure, the CO conversion and the CH4 selectivity obtained on Ni–3%Mo/M catalyst maintained at about 100% and 89%, respectively, suggesting an excellent catalytic stability of this catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, CO chemisorptions, TEM, SEM-EDS, ICP, XRD, H2–TPR and XPS, and the results showed that electron transfer from MoO3 to metal nickel was the main cause of activity improvement of Ni–Mo/M catalysts at low reaction temperature of 250 °C. The addition of MoO3 could obviously improve the heat resistant performance of Ni/M catalyst. The results of TPR, SEM–EDS and XRD showed that the addition of MoO3 could enhance the interaction between metal nickel and the support in the way of Ni–Mo alloy, which inhibited the catalyst sintering.

Several nickel-incorporated SiO2 catalysts with MoO3 molar content in range of 0.5% to 5.0% were prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis method and investigated for synthetic natural gas (SNG) produ...

Background and Objective The optimized parameters of femtosecond (fs) lentotomy, an innovative strategy for presbyopia, have been further discussed regarding the safety of the procedure for eyeballs. This article's aim was to prove the safety and feasibility of the fs lentotomy procedure with 50-fs laser pulses. Study Design/Materials and Methods This was an experimental study in which the safety of fs lentotomy by optical measurement was tested. The experiment was performed on 49 porcine crystalline lenses by 50-fs laser pulses at a central wavelength of 800 nm and scanning focusing optics with a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.125. The input pulse energy was in the range of 0.35 μJ to 0.65 μJ. The transmitted energy throughout the eyeball was measured through a hole in the back wall of the eyeball by a power meter. The transmittance and peak power density (PPD) on the cornea, lens, and retina were illustrated. The laser cutting quality of 50-fs laser pulses on the crystalline lens were assessed, and the theoretical safety of such a procedure for the cornea, lens, and retina was evaluated. Results A sharp cut without noticeable large bubbles was obtained with 0.35 μJ pulse energy under the optical system for which the NA was 0.125. The transmittance of the whole eyeball was measured to be 69% to 75% under 0.35 μJ to 0.65 μJ incident laser energy. The threshold of PPD for photodisruption on the crystalline lens, retina, and cornea was measured to be in the magnitude of 1013 W/cm2, 108 W/cm2, and 109 W/cm2, respectively. Conclusions The cutting quality in this experiment implied the feasibility of the 50-fs laser in fs lentotomy; the pulse energy for fs lentotomy descended from microjoules to hundreds of nanojoules, and the PPD on the cornea and retina during the procedure decreased further, both of which illustrated the safety of such an optical design and the parameters during fs lentotomy for the eyeball. Lasers Surg. Med. 45:450–459, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Few studies have investigated contemporary professional migrant women from mainland China to developed economies like Australia to understand their motives of migration and the strategy they may adopt to advance their careers. This paper fills part of this important research gap by investigating the career rebuilding experience of Chinese professional immigrants in Australia. It examines the motives of their migration, their career aspirations, the strategies they adopt to rebuild their career and the types of career they are rebuilding. It explores how the compounded effect of gender, race, immigration and family commitment may be articulated in the family and social relations, and how these factors affect women's career aspirations and outcomes. This paper concludes that whilst social capital is important for Chinese migrant women professionals who already possess a high level of human capital, to restart their post-migration career, cultural capital is crucial for their managerial career advancement.

Several nickel incorporated MCM-41 catalysts with a nickel molar content from 1% to 10% were prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis method, and investigated for their catalytic performances for the production of substitute natural gas (SNG) from syngas methanation in a continuous flow fixed-bed reactor. The catalysts were characterized by FTIR, ICP, XRD, H2-TPR, TG–DTA and TEM, and the results showed that the mesoporous structure of MCM-41 still maintained well when the incorporated Ni molar content was up to 10%. The Ni–M catalyst prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis method with a nickel molar content of 10% showed the best catalytic activity with a high CO conversion of almost 100%, and a CH4 yield of 95.7% at 350 °C with 3:1 molar ratio of H2 to CO under 1.0 MPa and 12000 ml/h/g. Compared with the 10%Ni/M catalyst prepared by the impregnation method, the 10%Ni–M catalyst showed a higher resistance to sintering and no decrease in catalytic activity after calcination at 700 °C for 2 h. In the 100 h stability test under atmospheric pressure, the CO conversion rate and the CH4 yield obtained on 10%Ni–M catalyst maintained at about 100% and 82%, respectively, suggesting an excellent catalytic stability of this catalyst. The results of XRD, H2-TPR and TG–DTA showed that there was a strong interaction between the Ni species and the support, which inhibited the catalyst sintering. And the amount of coke formed on the spent 10%Ni–M catalyst in the stability test was 3.0 wt%. The coke formation was relatively easily to remove by calcination because the deposited carbon had a small particle size and uniform dispersion on the catalyst.

The source and diagenesis of sediment organic matter (OM) based on amino sugar yields and compositions were investigated in sediment samples collected along a reach of the upper Pearl River Estuary in south China. Sediment samples were collected from the estuary. Three sediment size fractions—coarse particulate OM (CPOM), fine particulate OM (FPOM), and ultrafiltered dissolved OM (UDOM)—were analyzed for total hydrolysable amino sugars (THAS), total organic carbon (TOC), and total nitrogen (N). THAS contributed much more to sediment TOC and total N in UDOM than in CPOM and FPOM. Percentages of TOC as THAS increased with increasing sediment size. The low glucosamine/galactosamine ratios indicated a relatively large bacterial contribution to the sediment OM size fractions and the less reactive nature of sediment OM in the upper Pearl River Estuary. However, the depletion in muramic acid in the three sediment fractions, especially in UDOM, suggested that living bacteria or intact peptidoglycan units were not a major contributor to sediment OM. The increases of TOC as THAS and C-normalized yields of THAS with the different sediment size fractions demonstrated that they could be used as diagenetic indicators.

Aiming to verify the concept of using heteroclinic connections to reconfigure smart structures, a multistable buckled beam with integrated Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires is utilized as a high fidelity model. The Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires are resistively heated to provide the actuation force to stabilize the unstable configuration and the transition of the beam from one unstable equilibrium condition to the other. This concept provides a means of reducing the energy requirement for transitions between configurations of the structure, which is an energy-efficient reconfiguration scheme between equal-energy unstable (but actively controlled) equilibria. This letter presents a detailed design of the system, and how the active (heated) SMA wires control the structure stay in unstable configuration and drive the structure to achieve reconfiguration. Exploiting the instability of the smart structure has significant interests in many power reduction applications, including active flow control, reconfiguration of large deployable aerospace structures, and MEMS devices.

A reconfigurable smart surface with multiple equilibria is presented, modelled using discrete point masses and linear springs with geometric nonlinearity. An energy-efficient reconfiguration scheme is then investigated to connect equal-energy unstable (but actively controlled) equilibria. In principle, zero net energy input is required to transition the surface between these unstable states, compared to transitions between stable equilibria across a potential barrier. These transitions between equal-energy unstable states, therefore, form heteroclinic connections in the phase space of the problem. Moreover, the smart surface model developed can be considered as a unit module for a range of applications, including modules which can aggregate together to form larger distributed smart surface systems.

In line with the rapid development of the tourism industry globally, the hotel sector in particular has experienced a period of enormous economic development during the last two decades. Correspondingly, the demand for talented professionals in management roles has increased significantly. Based on this the results of this research effective “soft skills”, also referred to as people or interpersonal skills, are viewed as essential skills to employment in hotel managerial roles by the senior managerial informants working in this industry sector. This paper reviews and investigates the soft skills that are identified as essential for managers in international hotels. This exploratory study adopted a qualitative methodology. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers within hotel groups in six countries. The study focusses on soft skills necessary for managers in the industry and the region from multiple perspectives.

This paper introduces a new computational imaging technique called image quality transfer (IQT). IQT uses machine learning to transfer the rich information available from one-off experimental medical imaging devices to the abundant but lower-quality data from routine acquisitions. The procedure uses matched pairs to learn mappings from low-quality to corresponding high-quality images. Once learned, these mappings then augment unseen low quality images, for example by enhancing image resolution or information content. Here, we demonstrate IQT using a simple patch-regression implementation and the uniquely rich diffusion MRI data set from the human connectome project (HCP). Results highlight potential benefits of IQT in both brain connectivity mapping and microstructure imaging. In brain connectivity mapping, IQT reveals, from standard data sets, thin connection pathways that tractography normally requires specialised data to reconstruct. In microstructure imaging, IQT shows potential in estimating, from standard "single-shell" data (one non-zero b-value), maps of microstructural parameters that normally require specialised multi-shell data. Further experiments show strong generalisability, highlighting IQT's benefits even when the training set does not directly represent the application domain. The concept extends naturally to many other imaging modalities and reconstruction problems.

Heze city, a medium-size city in Shandong province, Eastern China. Ambient PM

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a recently discovered class of cellular RNAs, play important roles in the regulation of many cellular developmental processes. Although lncRNAs have been systematically identified in various systems, most of them have not been functionally characterized in vivo in animal models. In this study, we identified 128 testis-specific Drosophila lncRNAs and knocked out 105 of them using an optimized three-component CRISPR/Cas9 system. Among the lncRNA knockouts, 33 (31%) exhibited a partial or complete loss of male fertility, accompanied by visual developmental defects in late spermatogenesis. In addition, six knockouts were fully or partially rescued by transgenes in a trans configuration, indicating that those lncRNAs primarily work in trans. Furthermore, gene expression profiles for five lncRNA mutants revealed that testis-specific lncRNAs regulate global gene expression, orchestrating late male germ cell differentiation. Compared with coding genes, the testis-specific lncRNAs evolved much faster. Moreover, lncRNAs of greater functional importance exhibited higher sequence conservation, suggesting that they are under constant evolutionary selection. Collectively, our results reveal critical functions of rapidly evolving testis-specific lncRNAs in late Drosophila spermatogenesis.

INTRODUCTION It has long been an interesting question whether a living cell can be constructed from scratch in the lab, a goal that may not be realized anytime soon. Nonetheless, with advances in DNA synthesis technology, the complete genetic material of an organism can now be synthesized chemically. Hitherto, genomes of several organisms including viruses, phages, and bacteria have been designed and constructed. These synthetic genomes are able to direct all normal biological functions, capable of self-replication and production of offspring. Several years ago, a group of scientists worldwide formed an international consortium to reconstruct the genome of budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae . RATIONALE The synthetic yeast genome, designated Sc2.0, was designed according to a set of arbitrary rules, including the elimination of transposable elements and incorporation of specific DNA elements to facilitate further genome manipulation. Among the 16 S. cerevisiae chromosomes, chromosome XII is unique as one of the longest yeast chromosomes (~1 million base pairs) and additionally encodes the highly repetitive ribosomal DNA locus, which forms the well-organized nucleolus. We report on the design, construction, and characterization of chromosome XII, the physically largest chromosome in S. cerevisiae. RESULTS A 976,067–base pair linear chromosome, synXII, was designed based on the native chromosome XII sequence of S. cerevisiae , and chemically synthesized. SynXII was assembled using a two-step method involving, successive megachunk integration to produce six semisynthetic strains, followed by meiotic recombination–mediated assembly, yielding a full-length functional chromosome in S. cerevisiae. Minor growth defect “bugs” detected in synXII were caused by deletion of tRNA genes and were corrected by introducing an ectopic copy of a single tRNA gene. The ribosomal gene cluster (rDNA) on synXII was left intact during the assembly process and subsequently replaced by a modified rDNA unit. The same synthetic rDNA unit was also used to regenerate rDNA at three distinct chromosomal locations. The rDNA signature sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), often used to determine species identity by standard DNA barcoding procedures, were swapped to generate a Saccharomyces synXII strain that would be identified as S. bayanus. Remarkably, these substantial DNA changes had no detectable phenotypic consequences under various laboratory conditions. CONCLUSION The rDNA locus of synXII is highly plastic; not only can it be moved to other chromosomal loci, it can also be altered in its ITS region to masquerade as a distinct species as defined by DNA barcoding, used widely in taxonomy. The ability to perform “species morphing” reported here presumably reflects the degree of evolutionary flexibility by which these ITS regions change. However, this barcoding region is clearly not infinitely flexible, as only relatively modest intragenus base changes were tolerated. More severe intergenus differences in ITS sequence did not result in functional rDNAs, probably because of defects in rRNA processing. The ability to design, build, and debug a megabase-sized chromosome, together with the flexibility in rDNA locus position, speaks to the remarkable overall flexibility of the yeast genome. Hierarchical assembly and subsequent restructuring of synXII. SynXII was assembled in two steps: First, six semisynthetic synXII strains were built in which segments of native XII DNA were replaced with the corresponding designer sequences. Next, the semisynthetic strains were combined withmultiple rounds ofmating/sporulation, eventually generating a single strain encoding fulllength synXII.The rDNA repeats were removed, modified, and subsequently regenerated at distinct chromosomal locations for species morphing and genome restructuring.

Fe-based amorphous alloy, a new-type material, was developed as a special-purpose welt overlay for remanufacture. It was deposited on the worn-out part for resuming and upgrading part performance. The microstructure characteristics of the overlay was characterized, including microstructure, phase composition, thermostability, and microhardness. In order to get a comprehensive insight to the machining process of amorphous overlay, this paper presents an experimental investigation into the effect of various machining parameters and tool geometry (Edge) on the surface roughness, tool wear, chip morphology, and surface damage. Comparing larger rake angle of 15°and smaller nose radius of 0.4 mm with 5° and 0.8 mm at the same cutting parameters, we found that larger rake angle of 15° and smaller nose radius of 0.4 mm increased the R a surface roughness parameter. In the tests, crater wear was not observed, and the friction and wear on the minor cutting edge wear were heavy due to the spring back of the machined surface. In brief,abrasion, adhesion, fatigue, and chipping are the main wear mechanism. As the feed rate reduced and the depth of cut increased (from feed rate = 0.06 mm/rev and depth of cut = 0.3 mm to feed rate = 0.09 mm/rev and depth of cut = 0.2 mm), a number of physical changes occurred in the chip including reduced distance between serrations, increased shear band angle, and changed chip morphology from spiral to ribbon shape. The results show that strain and strain rate rises in the chips’ inside with the increase in cutting temperature. When the thermal softening exceeded strain hardening, the shear resistance decreased rapidly. Thus, the free surface of the chip presents the nodular and lamella structure. It was noted that specimens generated by larger rake angle of 15° and smaller nose radius of 0.4 mm showed poor surface roughness as well as extensive surface damage.

Fe-based amorphous alloy is a new-type material dedicated to the remanufacture due to its unique property. Fe-based amorphous alloy is deposited on the abrased, fatigued, and fractured surface for resuming and upgrading its performance. In the present research, properties of amorphous alloy overlay, such as the microstructure, the phase content, thermal behavior, and mechanical property were evaluated and its machinability with respect to machining forces was experimentally investigated. Based on the response surface methodology and Box–Behnken design, four-factor (cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, and rake angle) three-level experiments were applied and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed. It is found that depth of cut is the dominant cutting parameter that affects the machining force components. Rake angle and interaction of feed rate and depth of cut can provide secondary significance to machining forces. Cutting speed, alone, has insignificant influence on machining force components. Predicting model for machining forces is established. ANOVA indicates that a linear model best fits the radial force and while a quadratic model best describes the axial force and cutting force. The optimal cutting parameters under these experimental conditions are searched.

Dabaoshan Mine, the largest mine in south China, has been developed since the 1970s. Acid mine drainage (AMD) discharged from the mine has caused severe environmental pollution and human health problems. In this article, chemical characteristics, mineralogy of ocher precipitations and heavy metal attenuation in the AMD are discussed based on physicochemical analysis, mineral analysis, sequential extraction experiments and hydrogeochemistry. The AMD chemical characteristics were determined from the initial water composition, water-rock interactions and dissolved sulfide minerals in the mine tailings. The waters, affected and unaffected by AMD, were Ca-SO 4 and Ca-HCO 3 types, respectively. The affected water had a low pH, high SO 4 2− and high heavy metal content and oxidation as determined by the Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ couple. Heavy metal and SO 4 2− contents of Hengshi River water decreased, while pH increased, downstream. Schwertmannite was the major mineral at the waste dump, while goethite and quartz were dominant at the tailings dam and streambed. Schwertmannite was transformed into goethite at the tailings dam and streambed. The sulfate ions of the secondary minerals changed from bidentate- to monodentate-complexes downstream. Fe-Mn oxide phases of Zn, Cd and Pb in sediments increased downstream. However, organic matter complexes of Cu in sediments increased further away from the tailings. Fe 3+ mineral precipitates and transformations controlled the AMD water chemistry.