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Polymyxin-resistant CRKP is a serious public health threat whose resistance mechanisms should be under continuous surveillance. Here, we collected 662 nonduplicate CRKP strains across China to identify the carbapenemase and polymyxin resistance genes and epidemiological features.

The carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) strain GX34 was recovered from the respiratory tract of an elderly male with severe pneumonia, and only susceptible to amikacin, tigecycline, and colistin. Complete genome suggested that it belonged to K51-ST16 and harbored plasmid-encoded NDM-4 and OXA-181, located on IncFIB plasmid GX34p1_NDM-4 and ColKP3/IncX3 plasmid GX34p4_OXA-181, respectively. A series of transconjugants generated in the plasmid conjugation assays, including Escherichia coli J53-N1 (harboring a self-transmissible and bla NDM-1 -producing plasmid Eco-N-1-p), J53-N2 (harboring a bla NDM-4 -producing plasmid and a helper plasmid GX34p5), and J53-O (harboring a bla OXA-181 -producing plasmid), could be stably inherited after 10 days of serial passage and no significant biological fitness costs were detected. Furthermore, we first reported the bla NDM-1 gene, derived from bla NDM-4 mutation (460C>A) under meropenem pressure, could be in vitro transferred into a self-conjugative, recombined plasmid Eco-N-1-p of J53-N1. Eco-N-1-p was mainly recombined by GX34p4_OXA-181 (40,449 bp, 75.16%) and GX34p1_NDM-4 (8,553 bp, 15.89%), in which IS 26 and IS 5-like probably played a major role. Eco-N-1-p could be transferred into the conjugation recipient K. pneumoniae KP54 and make the latter sacrifice fitness. The retention rates of bla NDM-1 remained high stability (>80% after 200 generations). The comparative genomic analysis of GX34 and those carrying bla NDM-4 or bla OXA-181 genes retrieved from the NCBI RefSeq database showed all bla NDM-4 (26/26, 100.00%) and bla OXA-181 (13/13, 100.00%) were surrounded by IS 26 . The immediate environment of bla NDM-4 and bla OXA-181 in GX34 and some retrieved strains shared identical features, hinting at their possible dissemination. Effective measures should be taken to monitor the spread of this clone.

Chemotherapy followed by donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is a promising treatment for relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). However, the best strategy for administering this therapy is still unclear. This study sought to explore the efficacy and safety of chidamide and CAG (cytarabine, aclarubicin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) (CCAG) regimen followed by DLI in relapsed AML/MDS after allo-HSCT. This was a single-arm, phase II trial in patients with relapsed AML/MDS after allo-HSCT. CCAG regimen followed by DLI was given according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty adult patients were enrolled. The median follow-up time was 12 months. The complete remission (CR) rate was 45% and the partial remission (PR) rate was 5%. The 1-year overall survival (OS) was 56.7% (95% confidence interval (95% CI), 31.6-75.6%), and the median OS was 19 months. The one-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 83.3% (95% CI, 27.3-97.5%). Patients relapsing more than 6 months after HSCT and achieving CR/PR after CCAG plus DLI regimen attained significantly higher survival rates. The cumulative incidence of grade III-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 9.4%. There was no treatment-related mortality (TRM). These data suggest that CCAG plus DLI regimen is safe and induces durable remission and superior survival in patients with relapsed AML/MDS after allo-HSCT. Trial registration number: ChiCTR.org identifier: ChiCTR1800017740 and date of registration: August 12, 2018.

DEM was employed to numerically reproduce the mixing process and flow behavior of different systems of spheres and cylinders, where the effects of rotation speed, aspect ratio (AR) of the cylindrical particles and mass fraction of cylindrical particles to total particles (C/T) were systematically investigated. The motion behaviors and corresponding mechanisms in improving mixing performance have been also explored from the microscopic scale. The results show that the binary mixture with AR = 1.0 gets a higher mixing rate at 40 rpm when C/T = 0.6. As the rotation speed increases, the mixture reaches a higher position and the velocity difference between spheres and cylinders increases, which leads to the flow regime transformation and then promotes the mixing process. Interlocks between particles becomes weaker and pores can be effectively filled when AR ≈ 1.0, which result in higher packing density and facilitate the transfer of force and energy.

Seahorse embryos are brooded in the enclosed nutrient-rich environment of the male brood pouch, which may be prone to bacterial infection. The immune responses of interleukin (IL) genes in the brood pouch have not been well studied. We identified 13 interleukins in the lined seahorse Hippocampus erectus. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed increased mRNA expression levels of il-1β, il-18, and il-8 in the brood pouch. When challenged with lipopolysaccharide or Vibrio parahaemolyticus, il-1β and il-18 were active as part of the acute and chronic inflammatory responses, respectively. Importantly, il-8 may be involved in powerful antibacterial immune responses and may be induced by il-1β and il-18 via a process involving the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway. These results suggest that il-1β, il-18, and il-8 may play key roles in the antibacterial immune defense of the brood pouch in male seahorses.

The densification of mono-sized regular octahedral particles under vibration is simulated by a DEM model. The model is validated by physical experiments. The effects of operating parameters including vibration amplitude and frequency are investigated. The obtained packing structures are characterized, and corresponding densification mechanisms are identified. The results indicate that vibration amplitude is more critical for densification compared to frequency, where a wide range of suitable amplitudes exists to realize the dense packing structures. Ordered packing structure exists in boundary region. The central region possesses good particle position randomness and orientation randomness, and the packing density for poured packing (initial loose packing) and vibrated packing (dense packing) in the central region are 0.670 and 0.684, respectively. During densification, contacts and constraints between particles decrease, and the stress within the structure becomes larger. The typical arrangement of neighboring particles is close to but not perfect face to face (F–F) contact. Particles in the boundary region experience more rotations and can form local ordered structures. These structures prevent the relative movement of individual particles but favor their movement as a whole. Particles in the central region have relatively little movement and rotation. The ordered structures formed at boundary is difficult to extend to the central region due to the restricted change of particle contact conditions.

Objectives. To study the resorption of the herniated lumbar disc (RHLD) and its mechanism in the SD rats of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation treated with Hui medicine moxibustion (HMM). Methods. Forty SD rats were randomly divided into four groups, normal group, lumbar disc herniation (LDH) group, HMM group, and antagonist (HMM+Met12) group, with 10 rats in each group. The rat model of LDH was prepared with the method of lumbar epidural emplacement of the caudal intervertebral disc. In the HMM group and HMM+Met12 groups, 4 weeks after modeling, HMM therapy was performed in the lumbar spine for 3 months with 1 time per day and 20 min each time, the samples were collected 8 weeks after the treatment. The histological degeneration was observed through HE staining, and the neovascularization of intervertebral disc tissues was detected by the expression of CD34 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The apoptosis of nucleus pulpous cells was detected by TUNEL assay, and the activity of caspase-3, -8, and -9 and extracellular matrix enzymes was detected by western blotting. Results. HMM treatment significantly improved the behavioral ability of rats with LDH surgery. The morphological structure was obviously destroyed in the LDH group, but disc structure was significantly repaired in the HMM group, and mild structure alterations were observed in the HMM+Met12 group. Higher levels of CD34 and VEGF were detected in the HMM group indicating that neovascularization is formed. The expression level of FasL was significantly increased in the HMM group. The protein expression levels of cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-8, and cleaved-caspase-9 in nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues were also elevated when treated with HMM, and the TUNEL staining showed the same results. The protein expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases- (MMP-) 1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-13, and ADAMTS-4 were markedly promoted in the HMM group. Met12, a small peptide antagonist of FasL, significantly reduced the effects of HMM. Conclusion. HMM can promote the formation of neovascularization of lumbar intervertebral disc, support the apoptosis of NP cells through Fas/FasL signaling, and regulate the degradation of extracellular matrix enzyme, which then accelerates the absorption of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation and the recovery of motor function in rats.

China’s economy is developing rapidly, and enterprises are paying more and more attention to environmental protection in the process of economic development. However, relatively speaking, the environmental awareness of enterprises and employees needs to be further improved. This paper investigates the impact of green human resource management on environmental performance by questionnaire survey. A total of 372 questionnaires were distributed to front-line employees and human resource supervisors, 357 of which were valid. Using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediating effect test, this paper studies the relationship between green human resource management and environmental performance, and tests the mediating role of employees’ work values between green human resource management and enterprise environmental performance. The conclusion of the empirical study has some inspiration for the green human resource management of enterprises, provides some references for the development of relevant theories, and provides practical significance for the green development of enterprises.

Objective： To compare the efficacy and safety of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with nedaplatin and cisplatin in inoperative locally-advanced non-small cell lung cancer（NSCLC）.Methods： Eighty patients with locally-advanced NSCLC treated in Guanyun County People’s Hospital，Lianyungang，Jiangsu Province，from January 2015 to January 2019 were enrolled as study subjects，and were randomly divided into the nedaplatin group and the cisplatin group，each consisting of 40 patients.The patients in the 2 groups were treated with linear accelerator 6 MV high energy X-ray and 3D-CRT，5 times a week for a succession of 6 weeks，with a total dosage of 55-66 Gy.Then，the patients were given paclitaxel（155 mg/m2） intravenously for 3 hours in the first day after radiotherapy，and the patients in the cisplatin group were treated with cisplatin（80 mg/m2） intravenously for 3 to 4 days，and the patients in the nedaplatin group were given nedaplatin（80 mg/m2） intravenously also for 3 to 4 days.The efficacy，the levels of such serum tumor markers as carcinoembryonic antigen（CEA），carbohydrate antigen 125（CA125），neuron specific enolase（NSE） and cytokeratin fragment antigen 21-1（CYFRA21-1），as well as the rate of adverse drug reactions（ADRs） were compared between the 2 groups.Results： There was no statistical significance in remission rate and disease control rate，when comparisons were made between the 2 groups（P>0.05）.After treatment，CEA，CA125，NSE and CYFRA21-1 levels in the 2 groups were significantly lower than those before treatment（P0.05）.However，NSE and CYFRA21-1 levels in the patients of the nedaplatin group were significantly lower than those of the cisplatin group（P

The packing of cohesive particles is of paramount importance in many industries because the packing structure is closely related to process performance. A general relation between packing density and interparticle force was previously proposed based on packing structures formed without dynamic fluid flows. Its universality is examined here in two different packings, formed in settling and defluidization of static and dynamic fluids, respectively. First, it is shown that the packings of the same particles formed by two different methods have different structures because of different impact-induced pressures. Nevertheless, a one-to-one relationship between packing density and structural properties still holds regardless of the different packing methods, and the force distribution in those packings obeys similar rules. Finally, the packing densities obtained by the different methods are demonstrated to be universally correlated with the ratio of the interparticle force to the effective gravity. These findings indicate that different phenomena of particulate systems at a macro- or meso-scale may share similar microscopic origins, with the interparticle force playing a crucial role.

Background: Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare chronic B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. It has two pathological subtypes: classical HCL (HCL-C) and HCL-variant (HCL-V). HCL-C and HCL-V are distinct in morphology and immunophenotype. Their differentiation is important for patient management and clinical outcome, with HCL-V responding poorly to conventional HCL treatments. Recently, whole genomic sequencing has been used to identify the difference between HCL-C and HCL-V and mutation of BRAFV600E has been proved to be a molecular hallmark of HCL-C. However, BRAF inhibitors were not effective in all HCL-C cases and HCL-V seems be lack of the high-frequency mutations. Therefore, it is necessary to compare the genomic changes between HCL-C and HCL-V by high-resolution studies, especially in Chinese population, the genomic alterations of HCL have rarely be reported. Methods: In this study, the clinical features of a total of 18 Chinese HCL patients were described. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array analysis was performed to evaluate the genomic copy number alterations (CNA) and copy neutral loss of heterozygosity (CN-LOH) on six HCL-Vs with CD25-/BRAFV600E- and four HCL-Cs with CD25+/BRAFV600E+. Results: A total of 24 CNAs including seven chromosomal gains and 17 chromosomal losses, and 22 CN-LOHs were revealed. Five of the six cases of HCL-V showed 15 CNAs including four cryptic chromosomal gains and 11 chromosomal losses. Overlapping regions involving micro-deletion of chromosome 2q13 and large chromosomal loss of 14q were showed in HCL-V. In HCL-C, a total of nine CNAs were revealed in three of the four cases including three chromosomal gains and six chromosomal losses. No overlapping area was observed among the CNVs. 15 CN-LOHs were showed in five of the six cases of HCL-V and seven CN-LOHs was demonstrated in all of the four HCL-Cs. Conclusions: Comparing to Westerners, a relatively higher proportion of HCL-V in all HCL is observed in this study. CNAs and CN-LOHs were common in both HCL-V and HCL-C but the CNAs were different in them. HCL-C was characterized with the higher ratio of large chromosomal changes but lacked of recurrent CNAs, while HCL-V was presented with the higher incidence of cryptic CNAs and recurrent CNAs involving tumor-associated genes. It is necessary to further investigate the association of the genes, such as NPHP1 and TRAF3 genes, and HCL-V in the future study.

The genome of the seadragon permits lifting the veil on its mysterious looks and sex-determining locus., The iconic phenotype of seadragons includes leaf-like appendages, a toothless tubular mouth, and male pregnancy involving incubation of fertilized eggs on an open “brood patch.” We de novo–sequenced male and female genomes of the common seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) and its closely related species, the alligator pipefish (Syngnathoides biaculeatus). Transcription profiles from an evolutionary novelty, the leaf-like appendages, show that a set of genes typically involved in fin development have been co-opted as well as an enrichment of transcripts for potential tissue repair and immune defense genes. The zebrafish mutants for scpp5, which is lost in all syngnathids, were found to lack or have deformed pharyngeal teeth, supporting the hypothesis that the loss of scpp5 has contributed to the loss of teeth in syngnathids. A putative sex–determining locus encoding a male-specific amhr2y gene shared by common seadragon and alligator pipefish was identified.

In this paper, the transition from random to ordered packings of mono-sized cylindrical particles under 3D mechanical vibration was simulated by discrete element method (DEM). The effects of particle aspect ratio, size of the particulate system and container wall on the granular crystallization were investigated. And the mechanisms were analyzed through the characterization of the order transition process in terms of packing density, coordination number (CN), orientational ordering parameter (O), nucleation and growth of cluster and granular temperature (θ). The results show that nearly perfect crystallization of mono-sized cylindrical particles can be achieved with specific aspect ratio and proper vibration conditions in a cylindrical container. The orientational ordering parameter demonstrates that the crystallization firstly starts from the container wall and then propagates inward gradually. The lower granular temperature in a cuboid container indicates less vibration energy transferred to the granular assembly compared with that in a cylindrical container, illustrating the critical role of container shape in crystallization. The vibrated crystallization of mono-sized cylindrical particles is analogous to entropy-driven process, which can be gradually achieved by the self-assembly of particles with parallel alignments along the already formed ordered clusters (nuclei) or the container wall. These results can help design complex and ordered granular structures.

Understanding the relationship between a fluid flow and the structural properties of a bed is important for various industrial applications and a proper description of particle–fluid flow. This wor...

Waste water treatment with adsorbents has become one of the most effective methods. In this work, we have reported the preparation of the flower-like Cu2MoS4/g-C3N4 composites. The Cu2MoS4 nanosheets were arranged in a flower-like structure by a simple one-step hydrothermal synthesis method and attached to g-C3N4 nanosheets. The as-prepared flower-like Cu2MoS4/g-C3N4 composites was found to have potential for the adsorption of RhB in aqueous solution. The microstructure of the product was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The effects of the ratio of the composite material, the initial concentration of the dye and the contact time were explored. The Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of the flower-like Cu2MoS4/g-C3N4 composites for RhB was reached 420.2 mg/g. Moreover, the adsorption process is consistent with the pseudo second-order kinetic model, the Langmuir isotherms model and the Freundlich isotherms model.

Herein, we synthesized snowflake-like DNA crystals (SDC) via hybridization chain reaction and used it for the first time in the synthesis of copper nanoclusters with enhanced fluorescence. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and laser confocal microscopy characterization confirmed that SDC/CuNCs are self-assembled successfully on SDC. Aggregation induced emission allows SDC/CuNCs to exhibit better stability and stronger emission intensity. Thus, we developed the “turn-on” label-free fluorescence detection method of actin based on SDC/CuNCs which offer simplicity, low cost, good selectivity, and high sensitivity. The detection limit was determined to be 0.0124 μg mL−1, which was an order of magnitude lower than that of reported fluorescent methods (0.12 μg mL−1). Compared with previous method, the linear range is also much wider. We also performed standard recovery experiments in actual samples for evaluating the practicality of this strategy and proved that the capability of the proposed approach for the determination of actin is feasible and the interference from complex biological samples is negligible. These results indicate that SDC/CuNCs are expected to play a more important role in the field of biosensors.

Educational resource sharing among students is always an essential component for the development of education level. With the progress of digital and communication networks among institutions, the use and sharing of high-grade educational resources can reach a new level. This paper proposes a new platform for mobile educational resource prediction and sharing via wireless broadband access technology. The architecture of the resource sharing system comprises resource, management, and service layers. An evaluation index system is established to assess the quality of the resource, and a detailed description of the resource assessment methods is presented. Moreover, the social impacts on the allocation of resources and similarities between the social metrics such as response time, success rate, and resource acquisition were investigated. The system has the potential to provide a high success rate and low response time. The system proposed in the paper will stimulate teamwork between teaching groups and increase the ability of resource sharing and optimization more comprehensively.

This study aimed to analyze the application of composite domain analysis algorithm for electroencephalogram (EEG) images of children with epilepsy and to investigate the risk factors related to poor prognosis. 70 children with neurological epilepsy admitted to the hospital were selected as the research objects. Besides, the EEG of the children during the intermittent and seizure phases of epilepsy were collected, so as to establish a composite domain analysis algorithm model. Then, the model was applied in EEG analysis. The clinical disease type and prognosis of children were statistically analyzed, and the risk factors that affected the prognosis of children were investigated. The results showed that the EEG signal values of the detail coefficients (d51 and d52) and the approximate coefficient (c5) during the epileptic seizure period were higher markedly than the signal values of the epileptic intermittent period; the EEG signal of the epileptic intermittent period was a transient waveform, which appeared as sharp waves or spikes. The EEG signal of epileptic seizures was continuous, with a composite waveform of sharp waves and spikes, and the change amplitude of the wavelet envelope spectrum during epileptic seizures was also higher hugely than that of intermittent epilepsy. The accurate identification rate, specificity, and sensitivity of EEG analysis with the composite domain algorithm were higher than those without the algorithm. Among the five types of epileptic seizures in children, the proportion of systemic tonic-clonic status was the largest, and the proportion of myoclonic status was equal to that of complex partial epileptic status, both of which were relatively small. The proportion of children with a better prognosis was 75.71% (53/70), which was higher than those with a poor prognosis 24.29% (17/70). Abnormal imaging examination (odds ratio (OR) = 3.823 and 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.643–8.897); seizure duration greater than 1 hour (OR = 1.855 and 95% CI = 1.076–3.199); C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 5.089 and 95% CI = 1.507–17.187); and abnormal blood glucose (OR = 3.077, 95%CI = 1.640–5.773) were all independent risk factors for poor prognosis (all P < 0.05 ). The composite domain analysis algorithm was helpful for clinicians to find the difference in the EEG signals between the epileptic seizure period and the epileptic intermittent period in a short time, thereby improving the doctor’s analysis of the results, which could reflect its marked superiority. In addition, abnormal imaging examinations, convulsion duration greater than 1 hour, CRP, and abnormal blood glucose were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in children. Therefore, the invasion of related risk factors could be reduced clinically by prognostic review with medical advice, attention to food safety and hygiene, and improvement of children’s immunity.

As times go by, people’s standard of living is constantly improving, but the medical pressure exerted by children with cerebral palsy is also increasing and the recovery of lower limb function in children with cerebral palsy after treatment has also gets people’s attention. Of course, the relevant medical equipment is constantly improving, especially the appearance of virtual reality technology, which has played an extremely important role in restoring the lower extremities of children with cerebral palsy. In order to study the role that virtual reality technology can play in children with cerebral palsy, this article collects relevant information, builds a case template, and uses comprehensive quantification by investigating patients, examining relevant documents, and interviewing professionals. With qualitative analysis, a damage assessment matrix is created. Experimental results prove that the use of virtual reality technology can improve the treatment efficiency of children with cerebral palsy by more than 30%. In terms of the rehabilitation effect of children’s lower limb function, virtual reality technology is more targeted for the treatment of children with far-reaching effects. It is much higher than traditional treatment methods, and the mobility of the children’s lower limbs is restored by more than 80%. This shows that virtual reality technology can play an important role in the rehabilitation of the lower limbs of children with cerebral palsy.

Electroreduction of CO2 to formate (ERCF) over a gas diffusion electrode with a Nafion-bonded carbon-supported Sn-based catalyst layer provides a promising approach for formate production. The ERCF performance is largely dependent on the carbon supports. However, the key influencing factors of the carbon supports for the ERCF performance have not yet been elucidated. We employed a variety of carbon supports with different pore structure features (activated carbon, acetylene black, and ordered mesoporous carbon) to explore the main factors influencing ERCF performance. The results showed that the pore size distribution was crucial for the ERCF performance. The ideal pore size was 5–20 nm. As it had the highest specific surface area within this pore size range among all the carbon supports examined, the ordered mesoporous carbon support obtained the highest ERCF performance (Faraday efficiency and current density for formate were 97.45 ± 2.97% and 80.12 ± 5.91 mA cm−2, respectively). Further analyses revealed that the increased ERCF performance was likely due to the large electroactive surface area, enhanced surface adsorption and activation capability of CO2, mesopore-induced proton transfer limitations for the hydrogen evolution reaction, and excellent charge transfer. This work is of significance for the further design of high-performance gas diffusion electrodes for the ERCF process.

After the international financial crisis in 2008, the international accounting standards board revised the international financial reporting standards for financial instruments. In 2017, China revised and issued four accounting standards related to financial instruments in order to effectively solve the accounting practice problems of domestic enterprises and achieve the continuous and comprehensive convergence with international financial reporting standards. The revision of the financial instrument standard makes the enterprises change in the recognition, measurement and presentation of financial instruments to different degrees, especially the commercial banks are affected by more financial assets. In addition, the impact of the new financial instrument standards on enterprises is mainly reflected in the accounting of financial assets classification and asset impairment. Therefore, this paper takes bank of Nanjing, a commercial bank, as an example, from two aspects of financial asset classification accounting and asset impairment accounting, assuming that bank of Nanjing implements the new financial instrument standard on June 30, 2018, and estimates the impact on its asset presentation and corporate profits. On the one hand, it is found that the asset classification method of the new financial instruments accounting standards has little impact on the assets reporting and corporate profits of Nanjing banks. On the other hand, the face expected credit loss model increases the scope and range of enterprise impairment test, which will greatly increase the proportion of enterprise asset impairment accounting and reduce the profits of the enterprise.

The packing densification of mono-sized equilateral cylindrical particles under mechanical vibration is numerically reproduced using discrete element method (DEM). The influences of vibration frequency, amplitude and container size on the macro property (e.g. packing density) of each packing are studied. Meanwhile, various micro-properties including coordination number (CN), radial distribution function (RDF), local structures, contact types, particle position/orientation distributions, forces/stresses of the vibrated dense packing are characterized and compared with those of the loose initial poured packing. The results show that properly controlling vibration conditions can realize the transition of equilateral cylindrical particles from random loose packing (RLP) to random close packing (RCP). The maximum packing density without wall effects can reach about 0.7166, which agrees with experimental and numerical results in literature. Micro property analyses demonstrate that the average CN increases slightly after vibration. The RDF curves indicate three obvious peaks for both poured and vibrated packings. The distributions of intersection angles imply that the perpendicular arrangements of the cylindrical particles are common in both packing structures. From RLP to RCP, the probability of side-edge, bottom-edge and edge-edge contacts between two particles decreases, while that of side-side, side-bottom and bottom-bottom contacts increases. Both particle position and orientation distributions illustrate that the structure in the center of the vibrated packing is disordered. The distribution of strong forces follows the exponential law, while that of weak forces follows the power law. The static vertical stresses in both packings can be predicted by Janssen model. After vibration, a much denser and more stable structure with a larger saturation stress is obtained due to the reducing inter-particle friction effects.

To identify the dense packing of cylinder–sphere binary mixtures (spheres as filling objects), the densification process of such binary mixtures subjected to three-dimensional (3D) mechanical vibra...

This paper presents a systematic numerical investigation of static stress profile within a confined granular packing using discrete element method. The vertical and horizontal stress profiles are carefully identified within the packing structure, and the effects of container diameter and friction coefficient on the stress distributions are systematically investigated and analyzed. The results show a quantitative agreement between the vertical stress profile gauged at the bottom and the stress profile calculated within the packing structure. I.e. beyond a hydrostatic region, the static vertical stresses saturate exponentially with the packing depth. A positive correlation between the saturation stress and the container size and a negative correlation with the friction coefficient can be observed. Besides, it is also found that the well-known Janssen coefficient (or Janssen constant) is not a constant value; it decreases asymptotically to a constant with the packing depth, which implies a non-constant friction effects existed between the granular assemblies and the boundaries. And the analysis of contact forces within the packing structure also indicates a stabilized condition beyond the hydrostatic region. It is believed that these findings could develop a comprehensive insight on the stress distribution of granular matter.

Folic acid (FA) supramolecular gel was prepared in a mixture solvent of N -methylpyrrolidone (NMP)/H 2 O at a 1/1 volume ratio by using FA as gelator with a concentration of 0.4% (w/v). In the mixture solvent, NMP was first of time used as a good solvent to tune the solvent properties in order to be able to induce formation of FA supramolecular gel. The folic acid-gelatin (FA-GA) hybrid gels were synthesized by adding different amount of gelatin (GA) into FA gelator. The gelation temperature (T Gel ) of the FA-GA hybrid gel is 30 °C which is much higher than that of FA gel (10 °C). The gel to sol transition temperature (T GS ) is about 58 °C, which demonstrates that the hybrid gel has good stability at room temperature. The FT-IR and UV–vis spectra of FA-GA hybrid gel indicate that GA involves in the self-assembly process of FA via hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions with FA molecules. Owing to the π-π interaction happened between FA and GA molecules the fluorescence intensity of FA-GA gel is four times as high as that of FA gel. SEM images shows that the hybrid gel has a helical-fiber network structure which would enhance the gel strength to a great extent. Good stability, large specific surface and porosity in three-dimensional network structure of the FA-GA hybrid gel make it a highly promising adsorbent for dye adsorption. The FA-GA hybrid gel is able to absorb 63.5% of Congo red (CR), 68% of methyl blue (MB) and 44% of methyl orange (MO) respectively from their solutions.