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In regions with abundant groundwater resources, pre-excavation dewatering on deep foundation pits often leads to the deformation of the enclosure wall and settlement of the surrounding ground. Based on a series of engineering measurements, we conducted a series of numerical simulations to investigate the behaviors of wall and soil during pre-excavation dewatering with and without the existing pile foundations and under different distances between the existing pile foundations and foundation pits (D). Numerical results indicated that when the foundation pit is adjacent to existing building pile foundations, the soil was restricted by the pile foundations (i.e., soil-blocking effect). When D ≤ 40 m, the soil-blocking effect grows stronger as D gets smaller; while when D > 40 m, the soil-blocking effect is significantly weakened and the water-blocking effect (i.e., the blockage of groundwater seepage by the building pile foundation) gradually appears, which intensifies the ground surface settlement. The maximum settlement position of the soil behind the pile foundation of the existing building is farther away from the foundation pit as the soil-blocking effect becomes stronger. The coupling effect of soil-blocking and water-blocking on the ground deformation should be considered in the design of the foundation pit project to get a more reasonable support and dewatering scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Paint & Coatings Industry (0253-4312) is the property of Paint & Coatings Industry Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rationale: The importance of reward-associated cues in eliciting behavior is well established, with stimuliassociated with drugs of abuse known to play a crucial role in recidivism. Recently, Redish (2004) proposed that drugs,acting as unconditional stimuli (US), remain associable even after being fully predicted by a conditional stimulus (CS),meaning that they are not susceptible to the blocking effect [1]; if correct, this may represent a possible mechanism toexplain exaggerated cue-controlled drug-seeking and reinstatement in nicotine dependence and substance dependenceproblems in general.Objectives: We tested whether pairings between nicotine and an environmental CS would convey conditionedreinforcement properties onto the CS, even when nicotine’s rewarding effects were already fully predicted by another cue(whether there was an absence of the blocking effect).Methods: 134 male Long-Evans rats were implanted with jugular catheters and assigned to either food- or nicotine-reward(0.06 mg/kg/inf) conditions. Each group was exposed to paired or unpaired presentations of their respective reward withone CS in 10 daily sessions; subsequently, they were exposed to 4 more daily sessions of paired presentations of thereward paired with a compound CS composed of the original CS and a second CS. Tests of the conditioned reinforcingvalue of both CSs using the active-lever-presses to total-presses ratio as an outcome were conducted following training.Results: Pressing for a blocked second CS (µ = 0.59, SD = 0.21) was significantly lower than pressing for an unblockedsecond CS (µ = 0.69, SD = 0.14) in the food-reward condition, but not in nicotine-rewarded animals, verifying thehypothesis that nicotine, but not food, is resilient to the blocking effect.Conclusion: The absence of blocking when nicotine is the reward may explain the powerful role for cues in supportingtobacco dependenceby allowing for the extension of nicotine’s rewarding value across numerous associated cues.acting as unconditional stimuli (US), remain associable even after being fully predicted by a conditional stimulus (CS),meaning that they are not susceptible to the blocking effect [1]; if correct, this may represent a possible mechanism toexplain exaggerated cue-controlled drug-seeking and reinstatement in nicotine dependence and substance dependenceproblems in general.

Objective To use Fab segments of autoantibodies to bind to autoantigens on red blood cells in order to block the binding of intact autoantibodies to the autoantigens. Methods The pure autoantibodies were obtained from the serum of patients by absorption and elution test, then Fab segments were obtained by hydrolyzing IgG autoantibodies at 37℃ overnight with papain enzyme. The Fab segments were used to bind the corresponding autoantigens specifically, thus blocking the binding of intact autoantibodies to autoantigens. Results The pure autoantibodies obtained through absorption and elution test were all hydrolyzed by papain to generate Fab fragments. When mixed with intact autoantibodies in their respective elution solutions, these Fab fragments were able to block the binding of intact autoantibodies to red blood cell autoantigens. Among the three samples, there was a mutual blocking effect between sample 1 and sample 2, while no mutual blocking effect was observed between sample 2 and sample 3. Conclusion Fab segment of autoantibody can eliminate the agglutination of intact autoantibodies and erythrocyte autoantigens, and can be applied to clinical practice to solve clinical problems.

This study provides a promising strategy for designing separator modified materials to solve the shuttle effect of soluble LiPSs in Li-S batteries. [Display omitted] • A composite material consisting of the 3D connected carbon network and ultra-thin NiCo-LDH nanosheets was devised and manufactured. • The DFT calculations further provided a comprehensive demonstration of the synergy adsorption and catalytic conversion processes. • Li-S batteries that were assembled using modified separators demonstrated remarkable electrochemical performance. The shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) is primarily responsible for the unstable performance of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, which has severely impeded their continued development. In order to solve this problem, a special strategy is proposed. Specifically, ultra-thin NiCo based layered double hydroxides (named LDH or NiCo-LDH) nanosheets are implanted into a pre-designed 3D interconnected carbon networks (SPC) to obtain porous composite materials (named SPC-LDH). During the operation of the battery, the 3D interconnected porous carbon mesh was the first to rapidly adsorb LiPSs, and then the LDH on the surface of the carbon mesh was used to realize the catalytic conversion of LiPSs. This facilitates the electrochemical conversion reaction between S substances while addressing the "shuttle effect". As a result, the battery maintains a discharge capacity of 1401.9, 1114.3, 975.5, 880.7, 760.4 and 679.6 mAh g−1 at the current densities of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3C, respectively. After 200 cycles at 2C, the battery's capacity stays at 732.9 mAh g−1, meaning that the average rate of capacity decay is only 0.007 % per cycle. Moreover, in-situ XRD demonstrates the critical function of PP/SPC-LDH separators in inhibiting LiPSs and encouraging Li 2 S transformation. The strong affinity of SPC-LDH for Li 2 S 6 is also confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculation, offering more theoretical support for the synergistic adsorption process. This work offers a compelling method to develop modified separator materials that can counteract the "shuttle effect" in Li-S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a restriction on non-local binding in Vietnamese—the blocking effect—including a systematic comparison with its Mandarin Chinese counterpart. Our finding is that the blocking effect in Vietnamese appeared to be rather different from that in Mandarin but, in fact, employs essentially the same syntactic mechanism. While binding of Mandarin ziji is governed by a [+participant] feature, binding of the Vietnamese anaphor mình is governed by a [+author] feature. Together with the assumption of the presence of a silent performative frame, this derives that binding of Vietnamese mình yields what one may call an Author effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seepage erosion in the water-rich sandy strata, induced by the broken subsurface pipeline, has considerably complex interactions with the adjacent foundation pile. In order to investigate their interaction mechanism, six physical model tests considering different relative positions of pile are carried out in this study. By observing and measuring the variation of eroded form of soil layers, sand loss quantity and soil strength, the blocking effect and local intensification effect of foundation pile on seepage erosion are analyzed quantitatively and intuitively. And it's found that when the foundation pile is closer to the loss hole, the local intensification of erosion around pile is more significant, while the blocking effect of pile that extends the eroded area is relatively reduced. On the other hand, the earth pressure, bearing capacity, and unbalanced force and moment of pile are measured and calculated during the erosion, and their response characteristics to erosion are obtained that the pile bearing capacity quickly declines, the unbalanced force and moment on pile significantly increase with erosion, and the variation degree is more dramatical when the pile is closer to the loss hole. The research presented by this study is conducive to the safety control of urban underground space and the next-step numerical modeling on this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In regions with abundant groundwater resources, pre-excavation dewatering on deep foundation pits often leads to the deformation of the enclosure wall and settlement of the surrounding ground. Based on a series of engineering measurements, we conducted a series of numerical simulations to investigate the behaviors of wall and soil during pre-excavation dewatering with and without the existing pile foundations and under different distances between the existing pile foundations and foundation pits (D). Numerical results indicated that when the foundation pit is adjacent to existing building pile foundations, the soil was restricted by the pile foundations (i.e., soil-blocking effect). When D ≤ 40 m, the soil-blocking effect grows stronger as D gets smaller; while when D > 40 m, the soil-blocking effect is significantly weakened and the water-blocking effect (i.e., the blockage of groundwater seepage by the building pile foundation) gradually appears, which intensifies the ground surface settlement. The maximum settlement position of the soil behind the pile foundation of the existing building is farther away from the foundation pit as the soil-blocking effect becomes stronger. The coupling effect of soil-blocking and water-blocking on the ground deformation should be considered in the design of the foundation pit project to get a more reasonable support and dewatering scheme.

The blocking effect of 222Rn gas and its progeny by various face masks has been determined using a measurement system with a parallel AlphaGUARD detector. The theoretical approach of diffusion rate for different particle sizes was calculated. The filtering effect of the different masks followed the order N99 > surgical > N95 > double cloth > double cellulose > cloth > cellulose masks, respectively. Overall the blocking effect percentage ranged between 7.65 and 22.66%. The study indicated that the effect of a mask with high quality in filtering the gas of 222Rn and its decay products is more than the double-layer masks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporary block-breach phenomena tend to occurrence when debris flows run throng bayonet segment, accompanying with instant scale-amplified effect. By the way of field investigations as well as indoor flume tests, the influence factors and formation mechanisms of the block-breach effect were studied herein. Results showed that the flow amplification caused by the blocking effect of debris flow or the flow attenuation caused by the accumulation of solid materials in the bayonet segments, were related to the geometric conditions of the bayonet, the debris flow fluid and trench features，and whether there was additional loose material . The existence of bayonet was mostly a positive factor for the flow attenuation of debris flow, and whether there was the addition of loose materials was the key factor for the blocking effect of debris flow in bayonet segments. This study provided theoretical significance and application prospects for understanding the motional and deposited regularities of debris flow in where micro-topography abruptly changed, and improving the technical regulations of natural hazard prevention and mitigation.

The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation was solved using computational fluid dynamics to study the effect of the circulating tank wall on the hydrodynamic coefficient of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Numerical results were compared with the experimental results in the circulating water tank of Harbin Engineering University. The numerical results of the model with different scale ratios under the same water in the flume were studied to investigate the effect of blockage on the hydrodynamic performance of AUV in the circulating flume model test. The results show that the hydrodynamic coefficient is stable with the scale reduction of the model. The influence of blocking effect on AUV is given by combining theoretical calculation with experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: The importance of reward-associated cues in eliciting behavior is well established, with stimuliassociated with drugs of abuse known to play a crucial role in recidivism. Recently, Redish (2004) proposed that drugs,acting as unconditional stimuli (US), remain associable even after being fully predicted by a conditional stimulus (CS),meaning that they are not susceptible to the blocking effect [1]; if correct, this may represent a possible mechanism toexplain exaggerated cue-controlled drug-seeking and reinstatement in nicotine dependence and substance dependenceproblems in general.Objectives: We tested whether pairings between nicotine and an environmental CS would convey conditionedreinforcement properties onto the CS, even when nicotine’s rewarding effects were already fully predicted by another cue(whether there was an absence of the blocking effect).Methods: 134 male Long-Evans rats were implanted with jugular catheters and assigned to either food- or nicotine-reward(0.06 mg/kg/inf) conditions. Each group was exposed to paired or unpaired presentations of their respective reward withone CS in 10 daily sessions; subsequently, they were exposed to 4 more daily sessions of paired presentations of thereward paired with a compound CS composed of the original CS and a second CS. Tests of the conditioned reinforcingvalue of both CSs using the active-lever-presses to total-presses ratio as an outcome were conducted following training.Results: Pressing for a blocked second CS (µ = 0.59, SD = 0.21) was significantly lower than pressing for an unblockedsecond CS (µ = 0.69, SD = 0.14) in the food-reward condition, but not in nicotine-rewarded animals, verifying thehypothesis that nicotine, but not food, is resilient to the blocking effect.Conclusion: The absence of blocking when nicotine is the reward may explain the powerful role for cues in supportingtobacco dependenceby allowing for the extension of nicotine’s rewarding value across numerous associated cues.acting as unconditional stimuli (US), remain associable even after being fully predicted by a conditional stimulus (CS),meaning that they are not susceptible to the blocking effect [1]; if correct, this may represent a possible mechanism toexplain exaggerated cue-controlled drug-seeking and reinstatement in nicotine dependence and substance dependenceproblems in general.

This study examined the effect of mixed alkaline earth modifier fluoride on AC conductivity and dielectric properties in xBaF2–(50–x)CaF2–50B2O3 (x = 5–35 mol%) glass system. The impedance data showed a single-depressed semicircle with decreasing bulk resistance (Rb) with temperature. The change of σ AC implied a non-linear relationship with BaF2, which induced a blocking effect on the mobility of the charge carriers at x ≤ 20 mol%, indicating the Mixed Alkaline Earth Effect (MAEE). The abrupt increase at x = 25 mol% was associated with the expansion of the glass network due to the formation of Non-Bridging Oxygen (NBO). All glass samples followed the Overlapping Large-Polaron Tunneling (OLPT) model for the conduction mechanism. The change in ε′ more prominent in low-frequency regions, signifying that polarization was contributed mainly by the space charge polarization. Electrical modulus analysis revealed non-Debye type relaxation, indicating temperature- and composition-dependent dynamic ion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporary block-breach phenomena tend to occurrence when debris flows run throng bayonet segment, accompanying with instant scale-amplified effect. By the way of field investigations as well as indoor flume tests, the influence factors and formation mechanisms of the block-breach effect were studied herein. Results showed that the flow amplification caused by the blocking effect of debris flow or the flow attenuation caused by the accumulation of solid materials in the bayonet segments, were related to the geometric conditions of the bayonet, the debris flow fluid and trench features, and whether there was additional loose material. The existence of bayonet was mostly a positive factor for the flow attenuation of debris flow, and whether there was the addition of loose materials was the key factor for the blocking effect of debris flow in bayonet segments. This study provided theoretical significance and application prospects for understanding the motional and deposited regularities of debris flow in where micro-topography abruptly changed, and improving the technical regulations of natural hazard prevention and mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pile-beam composite structure in high-elevation debris flow areas is selected as the research object. Based on characterizing the pile-beam composite structure, the particle-flow simulation analysis program and the explicit dynamic analysis program were used to study comparatively the blocking effects of single-row piles and two-row piles, as well as that of a pile-beam composite structure at different positions. Besides, We simulated the mechanical characteristics of the pile-beam composite structure and discussed debris flow accumulation and structural stress transfer after the blocking. The calculation results show that the blocking effect of the pile-boulder force chain formed by the contact between large-size particles in the debris flow with the blocking structure and side boundaries on both sides of the gully could effectively block and delay the subsequent debris flow movement. The blocking effect of the pile-beam composite structure is the best. Meanwhile, the transition zone between the two-row piles further suppressed the flow velocity. When choosing the position for a pile-beam composite structure, we should consider suppressing the debris flow velocity as early as possible at the beginning and the potential energy-kinetic energy conversion process. Meanwhile, we also need to emphasize the design of the reservoir capacity, beware of the escape of debris flow due to a low-head barrier, and choose the optimal solution for the layout. The impact stress by debris flow boulders will be transmitted to the rear pile through the connecting beams, and the connecting parts at both ends of the beam almost reach the yield strength, which needs reinforcement to strengthen.

There is a poor blocking effect of the paper diaphragm used in the transportation package of lithium-ion batteries. Hence, researches on barrier materials are necessary. In this study, the thermal runaway (TR) was triggered by a heating rod and propagated horizontally between battery packs, and the tests were conducted in a self-designed chamber to investigate the blocking effect of aerogel felt thickness on the TR propagation of 18,650 lithium-ion batteries with 30% SOC and 100% SOC. And a simplified model of TR propagation was established to illustrate the heat propagation between batteries. The results showed that when the barrier thickness of aerogel felt increased from 1 to 10 mm, the number of batteries with TR decreased, the total heat release rate (THR) triggering time was longer, and the blocking effect of TR propagation was better. Besides, the aerogel felt the thickness of 1 mm had a poor effect on the prevention and control of TR, and there was a threshold between the barrier thickness of 6 mm and 10 mm to prevent TR. Simultaneously, there was a slight fluctuation in the parameters of heat release rate (HRR), battery surface temperature, and peak concentrations of CO and CO2. And the concentrations of O2, CO2, and CO are related to the SOC and the number of TR of lithium-ion batteries. When the thickness of aerogel felt increased to a certain value, the difference between mass loss and the force effect produced by TR will be smaller, and the THR will be more. These results provide valuable proposals and inspiration for packaging in civil aviation transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss mechanism of shear and upstream blockage caused by the interaction of the purged flow and ingested gas needs to be systematically studied to optimize the flow near the rim. In order to study the causes and influence factors of blocking and shearing effects and quantify their losses reasonably, the three-dimensional unsteady numerical method validated by the experiment data was adopted to study the turbine with three kinds of sealing structures. The block and shear loss are quantified by integrating the dissipation coefficient in the volume where the specific aerodynamic loss occurs. The result indicated that there was a larger radial velocity and smaller tangential velocity of the purged flow relative to the main flow caused the blocking effect. Therefore, its loss is affected by the seal flow and seal structure. The shear effect is mainly affected by the tangential velocity gradient and the axial velocity gradient near the cavity exit. The contribution of the tangential velocity gradient to shear loss is increased with the enlarged sealing efficiency. Through research, it is clear that increasing the purge flow's tangential velocity is beneficial to reducing the shear loss and has a positive significance for weakening the blocking effect in the main flow channel. Furthermore, the influence of sealing structure on blocking and shear effect must be particularly considered since both are related to sealing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents both an analytical calculation of the reflection coefficient (R Ns) of low and medium energy primary ions by target surface atoms, and its comparison with the experimental results and data (R N) from various computer simulation (CS) programs. R Ns calculation has been carried out for the ballistic regime (including a paired repulsive power interaction potential between particles and the phenomenon of target blocking by surface atoms). It was assumed that particles reflected by the surface atoms at the angles of ≥90° relative to the initial direction of ions contribute to R Ns values. It has been revealed that a significant increase in R Ns values is observed at energies close to or equal to the threshold sputtering energies for different ion angles of incidence. A comparison of R Ns and experimental R N values for the energy dependences of Cs + - Mo, Rb+- Mo, D+ - C pairs and for the angular dependence of D+ (100 eV) - C pair has provided a satisfactory agreement of the results. A comparison of R Ns and R N values for CS programs has provided a satisfactory agreement only with SDTrimSP program when comparing the angular dependences of Ar+ (1 keV) ions with C and Cu targets. • Theoretically, the effect of the scattering coefficient R Ns of primary ions by surface atoms of the target on the experimental sputtering coefficient of a solid was established. • The comparison of R Ns with the experimental scattering coefficient R N has a satisfactory coincidence. • Differences are observed when comparing the values of R ns and the values of R n obtained using computer programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Preventing smoke back‐layering in longitudinal‐ventilated tunnels is an important topic in handling with fires safety issues. Previous studies focused on the critical velocity, while only very few of them paid attention to how to realize this parameter, that is, in a critical state, to overcome the resistance of the tunnel and the fire source to the airflow, the required driving force provided by the ventilation equipment installed in the tunnel. This study addressed this problem in the situation where the coupling effect of blockage and throttling effect was highlighted by conducting theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. The results showed that the presence of metro train blockage reduces the effective cross‐sectional area of the tunnel near the fire source and decreases the critical velocity. On the other hand, the blockage of trains also increases the resistance to the ventilation airflow and exacerbates the throttling effect, leading to the increase of the critical driving force. In such conditions, a stronger driving force to approach the critical velocity was needed. Besides, the length of train blockage was verified to exert limited influence on the value of critical velocity while it significantly affected the critical driving force. Furthermore, the calculated formula for the critical driving force was proposed with the prevention of smoke back‐layering considering the blockage effect to be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Geology / Gongcheng Dizhi Xuebao is the property of Journal of Engineering Geology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Accurate and low-cost onsite assay of residual antibiotics in food and agriculture-related matrixes (e.g., milk) is of significant importance for evaluating and controlling food pollution risk. Herein, we employed hybrid Cu-doped-g-C3N4 nanozyme to engineer smartphone-assisted onsite visual sensor for reliable and precise reporting the levels of tetracycline (TC) residues in milk through π-π stacking-triggered blocking effect. Benefiting from the synergetic effects of Cu2+ and g-C3N4 nanosheet, Cu-doped-g-C3N4 nanocomposite exhibited an improved peroxidase-like activity, which could effectively catalyze H2O2 to oxidate colorless TMB into steel-blue product oxTMB. Interestingly, owing to the blocking effect caused by the π-π stacking interaction between TC tetraphenyl skeleton and Cu-doped-g-C3N4 nanozyme, the affinity of Cu-doped-g-C3N4 nanocomposite toward the catalytic substrates was remarkably blocked, resulting in a TC concentration-dependent fading of solution color. Using smartphone-assisted detection a simple, low-cost, reliable, and sensitive portable colorimetric sensor-based nanozyme for onsite visual monitoring the residual TC in milk was successfully developed with a detection limit of 86.27 nM. Of particular mention is that this detection limit is comparable to most other reported colorimetric methods and below most official allowable residue thresholds in milk matrixes. This work gave a novel insight to integrate two-dimensional (2D) artificial nanozymes-based π-π stacking-triggered blocking effect with smartphone-assisted detection for developing efficient and low-cost colorimetric point-of-care testing of the risk factors in food and agriculture-related matrixes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamic effects of the largest suspended mussel farms in the East China Sea near Gouqi Island, was investigated using a high-resolution 3D ocean model and field observations. To capture the 3D farm effects on hydrodynamics, an additional depth dependent momentum sink term was introduced in the model. The model results compared well with the field observations. The present model and observational results indicate that the presence of farms reduces the flow by more than 79%, 55%, and 34% in the upper, middle, and bottom layers at the farm center, respectively. According to the harmonic analysis of predicted current, mussel farms reduce the magnitude of the semidiurnal tidal current and also alter the magnitude and direction of the diurnal tidal current. The blockage by the farm weakens the Eulerian residual tidal current within the farm in the NE-SW direction, while strengthens that at the edge of the farm in the SE-NW direction. Cross sections, Sec1 and Sec2 are perpendicular to these two major residual currents and intercept with the center of the farm from SE to NW and from NE to SW respectively. The farm effect on the total water flux over a month through the Sec2 displays a semi-lunar periodic oscillation and is one order of magnitude smaller than that at Sec1. An asymmetry tidal current was observed in the farm north of Gouqi Island. The field observation of vertical profiles of current suggests that the thickness of surface canopy boundary layer can reach 5 m upstream from the farm during flood tide, increases gradually downstream up to 10 m under the cumulative influences of the farm. And a wake zone was observed downstream from the farm during flood tide. Better understanding of farm-induced hydrodynamic effects provides insight into how to optimize farm layouts based on local hydrodynamics, to maximize farm productivity and minimize environmental impacts.

In this study, fire-retardant plywood was fabricated using a simple guanidine phosphate (GP) impregnation treatment of the veneers, and the influence of the treatment on the flame resistance and bonding strength of the plywood was fully investigated. The results showed that GP modification could effectively endow the plywood with excellent fire resistance and smoke-suppression effect. When 10% GP solution was applied, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of the impregnated wood was up to 37%, which was almost twice of unmodified plywood. The heat-release rate (HRR) and total smoke production (TSP) were also greatly decreased from the pristine 94.14 MJ/m2 and 0.77 m2 to that of modified 43.94 MJ/m2 and 0.08 m2, respectively. The excellent fireproof performance was mainly due to the thermal decomposition of GP to phosphoric acid and guanidine during combustion, which could promote the catalytic carbonization of wood and release of incombustible CO2 and NH3 to dilute and decrease the combustible gases, thus collectively preventing the wood form burning. However, the guanidine phosphate modification could seriously damage the bond performance of plywood, especially the UF resin adhesive-bonded plywood. When 10% guanidine phosphate was applied, the dry and wet bonding strength of the UF resin adhesive-bonded plywood were decreased to only 0.7 MPa and 0.12 MPa, respectively, which may be due to the blocking effect of GP in wood pores and the hygroscopic and soluble properties of GP itself in water, thus decreasing the effective bonding between wood veneers. What’s worse, the poor water resistance of the UF resin adhesive was also adverse to the bonding strength of plywood. Surprisingly, the PF resin adhesive was proved to be suitable for gluing the GP-modified wood without obviously decreasing the bonding strength, which could be used to prepare plywood with both high bonding strength and flame resistance.

Installing the air curtain for painting drying workshop is an effective method for continuous vehicle in and out. A top injection air curtain is designed for the high temperature vehicle painting drying workshop in this research. Based on the numerical simulation method, the effect of key operating parameters and working state of the air curtain on the stability and thermal dissipation performance of air curtain have been investigated. The results showed that increasing both the air curtain injection velocity and injection angle improved the stability of the top injection air curtain. Both the optimized air curtain injection velocity and the air curtain injection angle are obtained to achieve the lowest thermal dissipation effect at the fixed workshop height. The stability of the air curtain declines sharply and the thermal energy dissipation of the workshop increased obviously at high workshop height. With the vehicle skeleton passes through the air curtain, the stable gas barrier is destroyed, and the thermal dissipation is increased compared without vehicle passing. The low air curtain jet velocity is recommended with vehicle through the air curtain. Moreover, the small distance between the car bottom to the ground, and the quickly vehicles passing air curtain are suggested in actual operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify and improve the electromagnetic compatibility of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver under a complex electromagnetic environment, the blocking effects of single-frequency and out-of-band dual-frequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) on a GNSS receiver were experimentally analyzed. This study is the first to investigate second-order intermodulation second-order intermodulation low-frequency blocking (SILB) interference which was newly discovered in our tests. The mechanism of the SILB effect was analyzed, and two key parameters were identified. The SILB interference factor and the relative value of the low-frequency interference level were introduced to establish a model predicting SILB effects. The method of determining the parameters, the modeling process, and the results are discussed in this article on the basis of both theoretical derivations and experimental measurements. A GNSS receiver was used as the equipment under test to verify the model. Notably, the results demonstrated that the threshold for SILB was approximately 30 dB lower than that for out-of-band single-frequency interference. The model proposed in this article accurately evaluated and predicted the SILB interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Systems Engineering & Electronics is the property of Journal of Systems Engineering & Electronics Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present paper introduces a novel latent heat storage system applicable to hot water systems equipped with a Phase Change Material (PCM) and a Novel set of Blossom-Shaped Fins (BSFs). The water supplied by the collector is injected into the heat exchanger as a Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF). The PCM is charged during the daytime and will be reused as a primary system to supply the building's heating load at nighttime. The system's performance is investigated for various geometrical parameters, including the fin-number, fin's degree of compactness, fin-height, and the combined-fin heights/pin. Moreover, thermodynamic optimization through exergy analysis is applied to give better insights into the system's performance and efficiency. Results imply that both the variations of the fin-number and the fin's degree of compactness improve the charging time by 17% and 2%, respectively. Moreover, the fin-number variations positively affect the exergy efficiency by 6%, while compactness of fins shows a converse behavior with an 8% reduction in the exergy efficiency. On the other hand, the fin height/pin parameter variations improve the melting performance by 15% while having fewer exergy efficiencies. In addition, reducing the fin-height parameter improves the exergy efficiency of the case with the least melting time by 25% while associated with the most prolonged melting duration. Hence, considering the different impacts of geometric parameters on the exergy efficiency and the storage time, one should pay attention to the designer's view and climate conditions to choose the suitable heat exchanger based on the desired application. If the storage time is limited, the combined fin height/pin is preferred. Otherwise, the fin-height might be a better candidate to achieve higher exergy efficiencies and system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the linguistics literature, it is generally agreed that the non-local use of the bare reflexive ziji in Mandarin Chinese is sensitive to perspective centers. The introduction of a local first-person pronoun encoding the comprehender’s perspective is assumed to make non-local binding unavailable, a phenomenon called the blocking effect. We conducted two sets of offline and online experiments that examine the blocking effect associated with ziji, to better understand whether and how it is affected by the syntactic status of the blocking pronoun (subject vs. object). By comparing the forced-choice judgment results in Experiments 1 and 2, we find that syntactically prominent subject blockers lead to stronger blocking compared to object blockers, and that the strength of the blocking effect can be modulated by verb semantics. Furthermore, only subject blockers caused blocking during incremental real-time processing; object blockers did not. These experimental results have implications for both the linguistic formulation of the blocking effect and for sentence processing models.

Surface movement and deformation with fault differ significantly from that without fault. To explore the mechanism of abnormal surface subsidence induced by fault instability, mechanical model for the fault slip and soil cantilever were separately established when mining in the hanging wall and footwall. Moreover, based on numerical and similarity simulation experiment, the difficulty of fault instability was compared and analysed. The results show that abnormal surface subsidence at fault outcrop is caused by fracture of soil mass at the fault outcrop due to the cantilever effect and the surface at fault outcrop is more likely to experience stepped subsidence when mining in the footwall. Fault stability worsens with the growth of the fault dip angle when mining in hanging wall, it's certainly subjected to slip when fault dip angle is lower than the internal friction angle and fault stability strengthens with increasing fault dip angle during mining in the footwall. At the same time, the ratio of shear stress to normal stress at the fault outcrop is about five times that when mining in the hanging wall and the fault is more likely to undergo instability during mining in the footwall. As a natural weak plane, a fault exerts a blocking effect on the transfer of mining-induced stress and overburden movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of lithium-ion batteries in civil aviation transportation, the thermal safety of lithium-ion batteries can not be ignored. Especially in a battery pack, the thermal runaway of batteries can spread from cell to cell, resulting in catastrophic hazards. This work focuses on the experimental setup and analysis of the experimental parameters of lithium-ion batteries with different thicknesses of aerogel felt to study the blocking effect of barrier materials on thermal runaway propagation of lithium-ion batteries in civil aviation transport. The aerogel felt was selected as the barrier material and a series of experiments were carried out with different thicknesses of 1 mm, 3 mm, and 6 mm. The results demonstrated that the increase of aerogel felt thickness exhibited excellent performance in delaying lithium-ion battery thermal runaway. Additionally, a simplified thermal model of thermal runaway propagation was proposed to explain the thermal runaway propagation in the battery to adjacent batteries. These results provide valuable suggestions and enlightenment for the aviation safety transportation of lithium-ion batteries.

Heat and flow characteristics were investigated numerically for a laminar stream past two tandem circular cylinders placed in a channel. The blockage ratios β = D/H) were chosen to be 0.6, 0.7, and 0.8, respectively, and the gap between the cylinders was varied proportionally to the cylinder diameter as g = 0.2D, 0.7D, 1.5D, and 4D at a low Reynolds number (Re = 40). The effects of the blockage ratio, as well as the gap between two cylinders on heat and flow features were examined in detail. Shear stresses, dimensionless static pressure, heat transfer coefficient, and separation points from the cylinders were determined from the velocity and temperature fields in the flow domain. The results showed that the separation angle decreases with both the blockage ratio and the gap size on the downstream cylinder, whereas heat transfer increases with both the blockage ratio and the gap size on the upstream cylinder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fences are one of the most effective measures to prevent and control wind-blown sand disasters, and the blocking effect of fences is largely determined by their porosity and height (H). This study employed wind tunnel experiments to measure wind velocities on both sides of wire mesh sand fences with porosities of 75%, 63%, 56%, 36% and heights of 10, 5 and 2 cm. The effects of porosity and height on the blocking effect of the fences were evaluated on the basis of velocity variability, flow field, and the wind velocity reduction coefficient. Results show that the smaller the porosity, the stronger the blocking effect. The fence with a porosity of 36% had the strongest windproof efficiency of 0.70 and longest protection range of 9 H, and thus showed the best applicability in preventing and controlling wind-blown sand disasters. The fence with a porosity of 56% showed a windproof efficiency of 0.31 and a protection range of 7 H, which could be considered for adoption. However, fences with porosities of 75% and 63% were not recommended to be adopted, because their windproof efficiency and protection range were very small. Overall, the higher the fence, the stronger the blocking effect. The highest fence (10 cm) had the longest protection range of 90 cm, which was the best in application. Nevertheless, the 5 and 2 cm fences were almost consistent with 10 cm fence in windproof efficiency, which was still suitable for wind and sand fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on regional model simulations of two distinct cases of the southwest vortex (SWV), this study compares their thermal and dynamic features and the differences in the evolution between a steady SWV and an eastwardly propagating SWV. The main results are as follows: (1) the rainfall period and area are determined by the location and movement of the SWV. The pathway of SWV movement is largely controlled by large-scale circulation, especially the subtropical high, which may have a blocking effect on the SWV. Generally, a stable subtropical high extending to the west has a blocking effect that leads to a steady SWV without much movement, while the eastward and southward retreat of the subtropical high favors the eastward propagation of the SWV; (2) both of the SWV types exhibit a vertical structure of convergence, positive vorticity, vertical motion maxima and a divergence center sequentially from the lower to the upper atmosphere. The localized thermal conditions are more important in steady SWV than in the eastwardly propagating SWV, while dynamic effects dominate in the eastwardly propagating SWV; (3) the strength of the convective activity of the eastwardly propagating SWV is significantly greater than that of the steady SWV due to the increased atmospheric instability. The vertical velocity, vorticity, divergence and surrounding wind speed are much greater for the eastwardly propagating SWV than the steady SWV, which favors the increased strength and high-level development of the eastwardly propagating SWV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the adverse effect of the tip leakage flow of cantilever stator on compressor performance, the impact of the axial position of endwall streamwise suction slot on tip leakage flow was numerically studied. The study on the overall performance of the compressor and the details of the flow field near the stator end region with and without suction showed that all suction schemes could weaken the tip leakage flow intensity to a certain extent, and the flow control effect was gradually enhanced with the increase of the suction flow rate. In the case of small suction flow rate, for example, 0.5%, the short slot schemes can improve the overall efficiency of the compressor by about 0.5%, which is more advantageous than the long slot scheme, and the overall efficiency improvement of the latter is about 0.3%. The advantage of the long slot scheme in flow control is reflected in the case of large suction flow rate, that is, 1.0%, which may improve the overall efficiency of the compressor by about 0.96%. The axial position of suction slot has a significant influence on flow control effect of the tip leakage flow. Compared with the downstream suction, which only modified the flow field by reducing the blocking effect generated by tip flow vortex, the upstream suction could better control the tip leakage flow by restraining the development of the initial stage of the leakage vortex. Besides, the endwall suction scheme with a full chord length slot has the greatest impact on the passage vortex, its effect on modifying the flow field near the end zone was determined by the combinatorial action of the enhancement of the passage vortex and the attenuation of the leakage vortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genogroup II, genotype 4 noroviruses (GII.4 NoVs) are a leading cause of epidemic and sporadic acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. In this study, we isolated a GII.4 NoV strain (designated 2015HN08) from a kid presenting with acute gastroenteritis and determined its near-complete genome sequence. We then performed sequence analysis by comparing this strain with the prototypical GII.4 strain. Virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from the major capsid protein (VP1) were expressed by using a recombinant-baculovirus expression system, and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced to compare changes in antigenic or histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) binding sites with the previously characterized GII.4 NoV strain (JZ403). The genome of 2015HN08 was 7559 nucleotides (nt) long, excluding the poly(A) tail. Genotyping analysis indicated that this strain was a Sydney 2012 variant. In comparison with the prototype Sydney 2012 strain, there were 74, 35, and 16 differences in nucleotide sequences in ORF1, OFR2, and OFR3, causing 7, 10, and 6 amino acid (aa) changes, respectively. Expression of VP1 led to successful assembly of VLPs, as demonstrated by electron microscopy. Screening of hybridoma cell supernatants with an in vitro VLP–HBGAs binding blockade assay led to the identification of a cell clone 3G10 that exhibited HBGA-blocking effects. This mAb also exhibited blocking effects against JZ403 strain, suggesting maintenance of the antigenic site and/or HBGAs binding sites between the two strains. In summary, we determined the near-complete genome sequence of a GII.4 Sydney 2012 variant and produced an mAb with blocking effects that might be useful in evaluating the evolution of current Sydney 2012 NoV strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep-water bridge would suffer more serious damage under earthquake than that standing in air. The larger blocking ratio has remarkable effect on the added mass coefficient, which deserves a further and comprehensive study. The generation mechanism of block effect is analyzed by using the numerical simulation software ANSYS Fluent. Results show that the recirculation zone with focus decreases the pressure on the rear surface of the cylinder, results in the peak value of the in-line force does not occur synchronously with the peak value of acceleration. Results also indicate that the change of the position and intensity of the recirculation zone with focus, as well as the change of the water flow around the cylinder surface, are the generation mechanism of the block effect, the block effect has a 10% influence on the hydrodynamic force. The added mass coefficient changing rule with blocking ratio is then discussed elaborately, and the modification approach to the present added mass coefficient calculation method is suggested. Finally the physical experiments are conducted to validate the modification approach, results shows the modification approach is accurate and can be used both in the further study and in real practice. • Change of position and intensity of recirculation zone is responsible for the block effect. • T b has greater influence on C M than L b. • C M decreases when 0.03 ≤ T b ≤ 0.08, remains unchanged when 0.08 < T b ≤ 0.16, and increases when T b > 0.16. • The modification approach to C M is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial solid-state nanochannels have aroused intense interests in biosensors and bioelectronics because of their special architectures. Herein, we pioneered an ingenious approach of target-triggered cascade signal amplification in porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanochannels for ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) DNA bioanalysis. In the design, AAO nanochannels were modified initially with capture DNA (cDNA) and then incorporated with a photoelectrode, yielding the desired architecture of highly ordered nanoarrays on top of the signal transducer. For target DNA (tDNA) probing, exonuclease III (Exo-III) mediated target recycling (ETR) was first activated to generate plenty of output DNA (oDNA) fragments. After oDNA and the conjugate of Au-labeled probe DNA (Au-pDNA) were anchored within the nanochannels via DNA hybridization, in-situ synthesis of Ag shells on tethered Au nanoparticles was conducted. The resulting large-sized Au@Ag core-shell nanostructure within the nanochannels would cause conspicuous blocking effect to hinder the transportation of electrons accessing the photoelectrode. Since the signal inhibition was directly related to tDNA concentration, an innovative nanochannels PEC DNA assay was exploited and qualified for ultrasensitive detection. The anti-interference ability of this platform was also emphasized by the split AAO membrane for biological incubation without participation of the photoelectrode. This featured nanochannels PEC strategy with cascade amplification launched a novel detecting platform for trace levels of DNA, and it could spark more inspiration for a follow-up exploration of other smart nanochannels PEC bioassays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to study the initial events of Escherichia coli adhesion to polydimethylsiloxane, which is critical for the development of antifouling surfaces. A parallel plate flow cell was used to perform the initial adhesion experiments under controlled hydrodynamic conditions (shear rates ranging between 8 and 100/s), mimicking biomedical scenarios. Initial adhesion studies capture more accurately the cell-surface interactions as in later stages, incoming cells may interact with the surface but also with already adhered cells. Adhesion rates were calculated and results shown that after some time (between 5 and 9 min), these rates decreased (by 55% on average), from the initial values for all tested conditions. The common explanation for this decrease is the occurrence of hydrodynamic blocking, where the area behind each adhered cell is screened from incoming cells. This was investigated using a pair correlation map from which two-dimensional histograms showing the density probability function were constructed. The results highlighted a lower density probability (below 4.0 × 10−4) of the presence of cells around a given cell under different shear rates irrespectively of the radial direction. A shadowing area behind the already adhered cells was not observed, indicating that hydrodynamic blocking was not occurring and therefore it could not be the cause for the decreases in cell adhesion rates. Afterward, cell transport rates from the bulk solution to the surface were estimated using the Smoluchowski-Levich approximation and values in the range of 80–170 cells/cm2.s were obtained. The drag forces that adhered cells have to withstand were also estimated and values in the range of 3–50 × 10−14 N were determined. Although mass transport increases with the flow rate, drag forces also increase and the relative importance of these factors may change in different conditions. This work demonstrates that adjustment of operational parameters in initial adhesion experiments may be required to avoid hydrodynamic blocking, in order to obtain reliable data about cell-surface interactions that can be used in the development of more efficient antifouling surfaces.