Search

The interface slip between shape steel and concrete is one of the biggest problems in numerical simulation of composite structures, this paper aims to investigate interfacial bond-slip behavior between steel and steel fiber reinforced concrete. For this purpose, a series of push-out tests on 15 circular section specimens which were designed and fabricated with different steel fiber ratio, interface embedded length and concrete cover thickness have been done. Experimental results show that average bond strength versus free end slip curves of each specimen is similar, and then a basic average bond strength-free end slip constitutive model was proposed in this paper. Meanwhile, considering the distribution regularities of steel strains, local bond strength and relative slip along the interface embedded length at different load levels were obtained through the mechanical derivation, the results show that the maximum local bond strength was located near the free end, and the local bond strength away from free end tended to be steady. Based on the basic average bond strength-free end slip constitutive model, two position functions were proposed to describe the local bond-slip constitutive model considering the variation of positions. Two position functions are of great significance for further research on SSFRC non-linear properties by FEM.

Tsinghua university-Ma Huateng Telescope for Survey (TMTS) aims to discover rapidly evolving transients by monitoring the northern sky. The TMTS catalog is cross-matched with the white dwarf (WD) catalog of Gaia EDR3, and light curves of more than a thousand WD candidates are obtained so far. Among them, the WD TMTS J23450729+5813146 (hereafter J2345) is one interesting common source. Based on the light curves from the TMTS and follow-up photometric observations, periods of 967.113 s, 973.734 s, 881.525 s, 843.458 s, 806.916 s and 678.273 s are identified. In addition, the TESS observations suggest a 3.39 h period but this can be attributed to the rotation of a comoving M dwarf located within 3". The spectroscopic observation indicates that this WD is DA type with Teff = 11778+/-617K,log g = 8.38+/-0.31,mass=0.84+/-0.20Msun and age=0.704+/-0.377 Gyrs. Asteroseismological analysis reveals a global best-fit solution of Teff =12110+/-10K and mass=0.760+/-0.005Msun,consistent with the spectral fitting results, and Oxygen and Carbon abundances in the core center are 0.73 and 0.27, respectively. The distance derived from the intrinsic luminosity given by asteroseismology is 93 parsec, which is in agreement with the distance of 98 parsec from Gaia DR3. Additionally, kinematic study shows that this WD is likely a thick disk star. The mass of its zero-age main-sequence mass is estimated to be 3.08 Msun and has a main-sequence plus cooling age of roughly 900 Myrs., 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

As criteria pollutants from anthropogenic emissions have declined in the US in the last two decades, biomass burning (BB) emissions are becoming more important for urban air quality. Tracking the transported BB emissions and their impacts is challenging, especially in areas that are also burdened by anthropogenic sources like the Texas Gulf coast. During the Corpus Christi and San Antonio (CCSA) field campaign in Spring 2021, two long-range transport BB events (BB1 and BB2) were identified. The observed patterns of absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE), high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) BB tracer (f60), equivalent black carbon (eBC), acetonitrile and carbon monoxide (CO) during BB1 and BB2 indicated differences in the mixing of transported BB plumes with local anthropogenic sources. The combined information from HYSPLIT backward trajectory (BTs) and satellite observations revealed that BB1 had mixed influence of transported smoke plumes from fires in Central Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula, and the Central US, whereas BB2 was influenced majorly by fires in the Central US. The estimated transport time of smoke from the Mexican fires and the Central US fires to our study site were not too different (48–54 hours and 24–36 hours, respectively) and both events appeared to have undergone similar levels of atmospheric processing, as evident in the elemental ratios of bulk organic aerosol (OA). We observed a progression of f44 vs. f60 as a function of time elapsed during BB2. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of OA showed that BB1 had a mixture of organics from aged BB emission with an anthropogenic marine signal while the oxidized organic compounds from aged BB emissions dominated the aerosols during BB2. While aerosol measurements exhibited good agreement with respect to the BB designation, the CO and acetonitrile trends revealed more complicated source contributions. Our analysis from mobile and stationary measurements highlights that both CO and acetonitrile are likely impacted by local sources even during the BB events and specifically that acetonitrile cannot be used as a unique BB tracer for dilute BB plumes in an industrially influenced location. Finally, we provide evidence of the potential regional impacts of these transported BB events on urban O3 levels using measurements from the surface air quality monitoring network in Texas.

Astrocytoma (AS) is the most ubiquitous primary malignancy of the central nervous system (CNS). The vital involvement of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification in the growth of multiple human tumors is known. This study entailed probing m6A regulators with AS prognosis to construct a risk prediction model (RS) for potential clinical use. A total of 579 AS patients’ (of the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas,CGGA) data and the expression of 12 published m6A-related genes were included in this study. Cox and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses for independent prognostic factors and multifactor Cox analysis established an R.S. model to predict the AS patient prognosis. This was subject to verification employing 331 samples from the TCGA data set followed by gene ontology and pathway enrichment study with gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The R.S. constructed with three m6A genes inclusive of WTAP, RBM15, and YTHDF2 emerged as independent prognostic factors in AS patients with vital involvement in the advancement and development of the malignancy. In a nutshell, this work reported an m6A-related gene risk model to predict the prognosis of AS patients to pave the way for discerning diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Further corroboration employing relevant wet-lab assays of this model is warranted.

In this paper, the mode matching (MM) method is applied to analyze the dispersion of the newly proposed transmission line (TL), centrosymmetric double-slotted line (CSDSL). For simplicity, the late...

In this study, a novel quasi-transverse electromagnetic (TEM) transmission line (TL) on a single-layer substrate is presented. The proposed structure comprises bilateral metalised vias and two longitudinal slots on the top and bottom plates, respectively. This two-conductor TL separated by the two slots allows the quasi-TEM mode and guarantees high isolation due to the vias which constrain the electromagnetic field. Additionally, the proposed structure provides a remarkable high range of the characteristic impedance, enabling a more flexible design. Furthermore, an empirical analytical formula is derived to calculate the characteristic impedance of the proposed TL adopting conformal mapping, and modified by a polynomial fraction. The transitions to the double-sided parallel-strip line and the microstrip line are proposed with which the propagation constant of this TL is extracted. The comparisons of the far-end couplings of several types of microwave TLs have been provided by the simulation and measurement to verify the isolation property of the proposed TL. Finally, the proposed TL is applied to the T-junction wideband power divider design to demonstrate its practicability. A prototype is fabricated and measured with a wide operating bandwidth from 6.8 to 17.6 GHz.

Blue large-amplitude pulsators (BLAPs) represent a new and rare class of hot pulsating stars with unusually large amplitudes and short periods. Up to now, only 24 confirmed BLAPs have been identified from more than one billion monitored stars, including a group with pulsation period longer than $\sim 20$ min (classical BLAPs, hereafter) and the other group with pulsation period below $\sim 8$ min. The evolutionary path that could give rise to such kinds of stellar configurations is unclear. Here we report on a comprehensive study of the peculiar BLAP discovered by the Tsinghua University - Ma Huateng Telescopes for Survey (TMTS), TMTS J035143.63+584504.2 (TMTS-BLAP-1). This new BLAP has an 18.9 min pulsation period and is similar to the BLAPs with a low surface gravity and an extended helium-enriched envelope, suggesting that it is a low-gravity BLAP at the shortest-period end. In particular, the long-term monitoring data reveal that this pulsating star has an unusually large rate of period change, P_dot/P=2.2e-6/yr. Such a significant and positive value challenges its origins from both helium-core pre-white-dwarfs and core helium-burning subdwarfs, but is consistent with that derived from shell helium-burning subdwarfs. The particular pulsation period and unusual rate of period change indicate that TMTS-BLAP-1 is at a short-lived (~10^6 yr) phase of shell-helium ignition before the stable shell-helium burning; in other words, TMTS-BLAP-1 is going through a "Hertzsprung gap" of hot subdwarfs., Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, published on Nature Astronomy, URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01783-z

San Antonio, the second-most populous city in Texas and the seventh-most populous city in the United States (US), has been designated a marginal non-attainment area by the US Environmental Protection Agency with respect to the 2015 ozone (O3) National Ambient Air Quality Standard. While stationary air quality monitoring sites are operated in the region by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), there are limited in situ field measurements for O3 and its precursors in the urban core. To better understand O3 dynamics in San Antonio, a suite of meteorological and gas instruments was deployed during May 2017. We incorporate field measurements from two campaign sites and one TCEQ stationary monitoring site into a zero-dimensional O3 model to characterize the local formation and destruction rates of O3, hydroxyl radical (OH) reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), O3 production efficiency, and O3 formation regime in the urban core and directly downwind of San Antonio. Upwind/downwind differences indicate the importance of photochemical processing of VOCs with carbon-carbon double bonds. San Antonio was mostly in a nitrogen oxide (NOX)-sensitive regime throughout the daytime during the campaign period, with O3 formation peaking at noon in the city center and early afternoon at the downwind region. Formaldehyde (HCHO), isoprene, and alkenes dominated VOC reactivity, with alkenes and isoprene from San Antonio's core (upwind) likely contributing to the downwind formation of HCHO and enhancing its OH reactivity. However, their direct impact on downwind O3 production was not observed. Model results suggest further strengthening NOX emission controls to decrease O3 formation in San Antonio.

The population of Texas has increased rapidly in the past decade. The San Antonio Field Study (SAFS) was designed to investigate ozone (O₃) production and precursors in this rapidly changing, sprawling metropolitan area. There are still many questions regarding the sources and chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas like San Antonio which are affected by a complex mixture of industry, traffic, biogenic sources and transported pollutants. The goal of the SAFS campaign in May 2017 was to measure inorganic trace gases, VOCs, methane (CH₄), and ethane (C₂H₆). The SAFS field design included two sites to better assess air quality across the metro area: an urban site (Traveler's World; TW) and a downwind/suburban site (University of Texas at San Antonio; UTSA). The results indicated that acetone (2.52 ± 1.17 and 2.39 ± 1.27 ppbv), acetaldehyde (1.45 ± 1.02 and 0.93 ± 0.45 ppbv) and isoprene (0.64 ± 0.49 and 1.21 ± 0.85 ppbv; TW and UTSA, respectively) were the VOCs with the highest concentrations. Additionally, positive matrix factorization showed three dominant factors of VOC emissions: biogenic, aged urban mixed source, and acetone. Methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein (MVK + MACR) exhibited contributions from both secondary photooxidation of isoprene and direct emissions from traffic. The C₂H₆:CH₄ demonstrated potential influence of oil and gas activities in San Antonio. Moreover, the high O₃ days during the campaign were in the NOₓ-limited O₃ formation regime and were preceded by evening peaks in select VOCs, NOₓ and CO. Overall, quantification of the concentration and trends of VOCs and trace gases in a major city in Texas offers vital information for general air quality management and supports strategies for reducing O₃ pollution. The SAFS campaign VOC results will also add to the growing body of literature on urban sources and concentrations of VOCs in major urban areas.

The vast majority of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods for air conditioning systems are developed for packaged commercial systems. This paper presents a method for obtaining key operating...

Temporal ranking ensembles indicate time-evolving multivariate rankings. Such data can be commonly found in our daily life, for example, different rankings of universities (QS, ARWU, THE, and USNews) over year and those of NBA players over season. Effective analysis and tracking of rankings allow users to gain insights into the overall ranking change over time and seek the explanation for the change. This paper introduces a novel visual analytics approach for characterizing and visualizing the uncertainty, dynamics, and differences of ranking ensemble data. A novel visual design is proposed to characterize the evolution pattern, distribution, and uncertainty of a large number of temporal ranking ensembles. The evolutionary ranking ensembles are progressively explored, tracked, and compared by means of an intuitive visualization system. Two case studies and a task-driven user study conducted on real datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the implemented system.

Discovering the correlations among variables of air quality data is challenging, because the correlation time series are long-lasting, multi-faceted, and information-sparse. In this article, we propose a novel visual representation, called Time-correlation-partitioning (TCP) tree, that compactly characterizes correlations of multiple air quality variables and their evolutions. A TCP tree is generated by partitioning the information-theoretic correlation time series into pieces with respect to the variable hierarchy and temporal variations, and reorganizing these pieces into a hierarchically nested structure. The visual exploration of a TCP tree provides a sparse data traversal of the correlation variations and a situation-aware analysis of correlations among variables. This can help meteorologists understand the correlations among air quality variables better. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach in a real-world air quality investigation scenario.

When analyzing a visualized network, users need to explore different sections of the network to gain insight. However, effective exploration of large networks is often a challenge. While various tools are available for users to explore the global and local features of a network, these tools usually require significant interaction activities, such as repetitive navigation actions to follow network nodes and edges. In this paper, we propose a structure-based suggestive exploration approach to support effective exploration of large networks by suggesting appropriate structures upon user request. Encoding nodes with vectorized representations by transforming information of surrounding structures of nodes into a high dimensional space, our approach can identify similar structures within a large network, enable user interaction with multiple similar structures simultaneously, and guide the exploration of unexplored structures. We develop a web-based visual exploration system to incorporate this suggestive exploration approach and compare performances of our approach under different vectorizing methods and networks. We also present the usability and effectiveness of our approach through a controlled user study with two datasets.

Many fault detection, optimization, and control logic methods rely on sensor feedback that assumes the system is operating at steady-state conditions, despite persistent transient disturbances. While filtering and signal processing techniques can eliminate some transient effects, this paper proposes an equilibrium prediction method for first-order dynamic systems using an exponential regression. This method is particularly valuable for many commercial and industrial energy system, whose dynamics are dominated by first-order thermo-fluid effects. To illustrate the basic advantages of the proposed approach, Monte Carlo simulations are used. This is followed by three distinct experimental case studies to demonstrate the practical efficacy of the proposed method. First, the ability to predict the carbon dioxide level in classrooms allows for energy efficient control of the ventilation system and ensures occupant comfort. Second, predicting the optimal time to end the cool-down of an industrial sintering furnace allows for maximum part throughput and worker safety. Finally, fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods for air conditioning systems typically use static system models; however, the transient response of many air conditioning signals may be approximated as first-order, and therefore, the prediction model enables the use of static fault detection methods with transient data (a need that has not been addressed in over 20 years of air conditioning FDD research). In this paper, the equilibrium prediction method's performance will be quantified using both Monte Carlo simulations and case studies.

Aim H-type hypertension is connected with carotid atherosclerotic plaques and stroke, whereas neovascularization is a dominant contributor to plaque vulnerability. However, the correlation between H-type hypertension and plaque vulnerability remains unclear. This study aims to explore the influence of H-type hypertension on intraplaque neovascularization (IPN). Methods We enrolled 235 patients with carotid plaques into the investigation and classified them into four groups: H-type hypertension group, simple hypertension group, isolated hyperhomocysteinemia group, and control group. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was performed on them and IPN was evaluated using semi-quantitative visual grading: grade 1 (no microbubbles or microbubbles limited to the adventitial side and/or shoulder of plaque) and, grade 2 (diffused microbubbles within plaque or microbubbles enter plaque core). To analyze the correlation between H-type hypertension and the degree of plaque enhancement, logistic regression was used. Results Compared with those with CEUS grade 1 plaques, those with CEUS grade 2 plaques had higher frequency of ischemic stroke (29.0% vs. 45.1%, P＜0.05), hypertension (41.0% vs. 56.3%, P＜0.05), and H-type hypertension (18.0% vs. 29.6%, P＜0.05). No significant differences existed in plaque morphology, plaque echogenicity, and the severity of carotid artery stenosis between the degree of plaque enhancement (all P ＞0.05). H-type hypertension (multivariate-adjusted OR: 3.036, 95% CI: 1.258-7.329) was independently connected with the degree of plaque enhancement even after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusion H-type hypertension is expressly connected with the degree of plaque enhancement and may facilitate plaque vulnerability. Our findings may offer a new insight for treating vulnerable plaque, lowering blood pressure, and lowering homocysteine equally crucial.

Objectives Sporadic endolymphatic sac tumor (ELST) is rare. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical feature and surgical outcome of a single-center series of sporadic ELSTs. Patients and Methods We retrospectively reviewed all cases of sporadic ELSTs operated at the Tiantan hospital between 2010 and 2020. Results Retrospective record revealed 14 patients with sporadic ELSTs who underwent surgical management. Serum VEGF(vascular endothelial growth factor)values of 6 patients were measured on admission, and the levels were all higher than normal(0−160 ng/L, Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay). All patients underwent surgical treatments, and there was no significant difference in KPS before and after the operation(KPS = 88:88). The average maximum diameter of the tumor was 41 mm (range28−56 mm). After surgery, Two patients received radiation therapy, We did not encounter any case with metastatic dissemination. No deaths occurred during follow-up. Conclusion ELST is defined as an aggressive or low-grade malignant tumor, with the characteristics of local recurrence and invasion of bone growth. Sporadic cases are common, and this rare tumor provides insight into the relationship between ELST and VHL syndrome. Early surgical resection can prevent or reduce the disability of auditory vestibular symptoms, and improve the chance of complete resection and retention of hearing. As far as possible complete resection of the tumor can prolong the disease-free survival of patients. Preoperative radiotherapy or stereotactic therapy cannot control tumor growth. Postoperative radiotherapy may have a positive effect on tumor control. The high expression of VEGF in patients may be related to tumor occurrence and development.

In-vivo studies of fibrous structures require non-invasive tools, of which one is fiber tracking based on Diffiusion tensor imaging (DTI) datasets. Different fiber models can be produced from diffierent DTI images, which may vary from subject to subject due to variations in anatomy, motions in scanning, and signal noises. Additionally, parameters of the tracking method also have a great influence on resulting models. Illustrating, exploring, and analyzing diffierences among DTI fiber models are crucial for the purposes of group comparison, atlas construction, and uncertainty analysis. Conventional approaches illustrate fiber models in 3D space and explore diffierences either voxel-wisely or fiber-based. However, these approaches rely on accurate alignment processes and may easily be disturbed by visual clutters. We introduce a two-phase projection technique to illustrate a complex 3D fiber model with a unique 2D map to characterize features for further exploration and analysis. Moreover, regions of significant diffierences among the maps are marked out. In these 2D maps, diffierences can be easily distinguished without occlusions that often occur in 3D spaces. To facilitate comparative analysis from multiple perspectives, we design an interface for interactive exploration. The effiectiveness of our approach is evaluated with two datasets.

User grouping in asynchronous online forums is a common phenomenon nowadays. People with similar backgrounds or shared interests like to get together in group discussions. As tens of thousands of archived conversational posts accumulate, challenges emerge for forum administrators and analysts to effectively explore user groups in large-volume threads and gain meaningful insights into the hierarchical discussions. Identifying and comparing groups in discussion threads are nontrivial, since the number of users and posts increases with time and noises may hamper the detection of user groups. Researchers in data mining fields have proposed a large body of algorithms to explore user grouping. However, the mining result is not intuitive to understand and difficult for users to explore the details. To address these issues, we present VisForum, a visual analytic system allowing people to interactively explore user groups in a forum. We work closely with two educators who have released courses in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platforms to compile a list of design goals to guide our design. Then, we design and implement a multi-coordinated interface as well as several novel glyphs, i.e., group glyph, user glyph, and set glyph, with different granularities. Accordingly, we propose the group Detecting 8 Sorting Algorithm to reduce noises in a collection of posts, and employ the concept of “forum-index” for users to identify high-impact forum members. Two case studies using real-world datasets demonstrate the usefulness of the system and the effectiveness of novel glyph designs. Furthermore, we conduct an in-lab user study to present the usability of VisForum.