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Four body-size and fourteen head-size measurements were taken from each Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) according to the measurements adapted from Verdade. Regression equations between body-size and head-size variables were presented to predict body size from head dimension. The coefficients of determination of captive animals concerning body- and head-size variables can be considered extremely high, which means most of the head-size variables studied can be useful for predicting body length. The result of multivariate allometric analysis indicated that the head elongates as in most other species of crocodilians. The allometric coefficients of snout length (SL) and lower ramus (LM) were greater than those of other variables of head, which was considered to be possibly correlated to fights and prey. On the contrary, allometric coefficients for the variables of obita (OW, OL) and postorbital cranial roof (LCR), were lower than those of other variables.

We report the studies of structure and properties of a quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) compound ${\rm BaTiS}_{3}$ BaTiS 3 under pressure. The poly-crystalline samples are synthesized by solid-state reaction method and single-crystalline samples are produced by chemical vapor transport method. The XRD measurement under ambient pressure confirms the hexagonal structure, which consists of face-sharing octahedral ${\rm TiS}_{6}$ TiS 6 chains along c-axis and displays a quasi-1D feature. When applying pressure, the synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments show that the sample undergoes a phase transition from hexagonal phase to orthorhombic phase at around 10 GPa due to the zig–zag deformation of ${\rm TiS}_{6}$ TiS 6 chains, while the quasi-1D structure is reserved. At ambient pressure, ${\rm BaTiS}_{3}$ BaTiS 3 exhibits an insulating behavior with a band gap about 0.273 eV. When applying pressure, the sample undergoes a crossover from insulator to metal due to the enhancement of inter-chain electron hopping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the routine maintenance of each main pump in the oil transmission station plant, abnormal erosion wear was found at the flushing port of the mechanical seal of Sulzer pump casing. For the sake of stable and safe unit operation, this study explored the mechanism and process of erosion formation in the pump casing at the microscopic level using SEM (scanning electron microscope) and EDS (energy dispersive spectrometer) techniques. And ANSYS Fluent was used to numerically simulate the unconventional turbulent flow in the special location of Sulzer pump to obtain its flow field characteristics. The trajectory tracking of solid phase particles based on Finnie erosion model was also carried out to obtain the influence law of different particle sizes on the wear degree of each area of the pump casing, and to point out the influence of the motion behavior of particles at the flushing port position on the erosion. The results show that there is unconventional turbulence in the flushing port of the Sulzer pump mechanical seal, and the solid particles are affected by turbulent diffusion and fluid adhesion, and some particles deviate from the velocity direction and continuously impact the surface of the pump casing, which is the direct cause of the erosion wear here. By optimizing the location of the flushing port, severe erosion wear at the flushing port can be avoided. This study can provide guidance and recommendations for the production, operational stability and wear protection of Sulzer pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The FexMo1-xS2 nanosheets with different Fe doping content x were grown on carbon nanotubes @ carbon cloth (CNT@CC) substrate using a hydrothermal method by varying the molar ratio of FeSO4·7H2O to Na2MoO4·2H2O in the precursor solution. The effect on HER, OER and overall water splitting (OWS) performance of Fe doping content x were studied. The FexMo1-xS2 nanosheets have the optimal HER and OWS performance for x=0.050 and the optimal OER performance for x=0.075. The overpotential at current density of 100 mA/cm² and Tafel slope are 198 mV and 44.7 mVdec-1 for HER; and they are 279 mV and 24.5 mV/dec for OER in 1 M KOH electrolyte. The electrolytic cell using Fe0.05Mo0.95S2/CNT@CC as both cathode and anode achieves a voltage of 1.69 V at current density of 100 mAcm-2. The bifunctional catalytic activities of the FexMo1-xS2/CNT@CC catalyst come from the synergistic effect between FexMo1-xS2 nanosheets and CNT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two dimensional (2D) layered molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) exhibit unique advantages as electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the low conductivity of MoS2 itself still limit the overall HER rate. In this work, MoS2 nanosheets grown on a carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/carbon cloth (CC) were used as a cathode electrode for HER under alkaline electrolysis. A MoS2/CNTs/CC were prepared by a hydrothermal method using a precursor solution of sodium molybdate (Na2MoO4·2H2O), thiourea (SC(NH2)2), oxalic acid (C2H2O4·2H2O) and deionized water. The oxalic acid is used as a reducing agent and its concentration plays a significant role in controlling the size and the HER performance of MoS2 nanosheets. The MoS2/CNTs/CC catalyst prepared with the oxalic acid concentration of 5.625 mM shows the optimal HER activity, exhibiting the overpotential of 134 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2, Tafel plots of 45.7 mV dec-1, electrochemical double layer capacitance of 123.9 mF cm-2, electrochemical surface area of 3097.5 cm2 and very high durability. The improved HER activity is attributed to the more exposed active sites for the smaller size MoS2 nanosheets and improved conductivity of MoS2 nanosheets by CNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the successful synthesis of a spin- and charge-decoupled diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) (Ca,Na)(Zn,Mn)2As2, crystallizing into the hexagonal CaAl2Si2 structure. The compound shows a ferromagnetic transition with a Curie temperature up to 33K with 10% Na doping, which gives rise to carrier density of np∼1020cm-3. The new DMS is a soft magnetic material with HC<400 Oe. The anomalous Hall effect is observed below the ferromagnetic ordering temperature. With increasing Mn doping, ferromagnetic order is accompanied by an interaction between the local spin and mobile charge, giving rise to a minimum in resistivity at low temperatures and localizing the conduction electrons. The system provides an ideal platform for studying the interaction of the local spins and conduction electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In nano-grain BaTiO3 ceramics, internal compressive stresses make the cubic phase more stable, while internal shear stresses stabilize rhombohedral and orthorhombic phases. The competition between internal compressive stresses and internal shear stresses gives a ferroelectric to paraelectric to ferroelectric reentrance phenomenon as a function of grain size. The pressure can be a tuning factor of reentrance behavior by controlling the interactions between external hydrostatic pressure and internal compressive stresses. These experimental phenomena can be well described by a modified Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire thermodynamic theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, the expression level of lncRNA forkhead box P4 antisense RNA 1 (FOXP4-AS1) is higher in NPC samples than in normal samples. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real-time PCR and Western blotting were performed to detect the expression level of RNA and protein. Luciferase reporter assay ran to test the interactions between FOXP4-AS1 and miR-423-5p and STMN1. Subcellular fractionation assay was used to determine the subcellular localization of FOXP4-AS1. The tumor-promotion functions of FOXP4-AS1 were determined by both in vitro and in vivo assays. RESULTS: The expression of FOXP4-AS1 was up-regulated in 80 cases with NPC, and these patients with a poor prognosis. Functionally, high expression of FOXP4-AS1 in NPC was connected with promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis. Moreover, FOXP4-AS1 is located in the cytoplasm of CNE1 (NPC cell lines). Mechanistically, FOXP4-AS1 up-regulated STMN1 on post-transcriptional regulation by means of miR-423-5p. CONCLUSIONS: Our present study demonstrated that high expression of FOXP4-AS1 in NPC portended poor outcomes. FOXP4-AS1upregulated STMN1 by interacting with miR-423- 5p as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to promote NPC progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PbO–MgO–Nb2O5–TiO2 (PMNT) pyrochlore thin films were prepared on Pt-coated silicon substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and postdeposition annealing method. Very interestingly, these pyrochlore-structured PMNT thin films exhibited ultralow dielectric losses, with a typical loss tangent as low as 0.001, and relatively high dielectric constants, typically [variant_greek_epsilon]r∼170. It was found that the relative permittivity slightly but continuously increased upon cooling without any signature of a structural phase transition, displaying a quantum paraelectriclike behavior; meanwhile, the PMNT pyrochlore thin films did not show any noticeable dielectric dispersion in the real part of permittivity over a wide temperature range (77–400 K). Their dielectric responses could, however, be efficiently tuned by applying a dc electric field. A maximum applied bias field of 1 MV/cm resulted in a ∼20% tunability of the dielectric permittivity, giving rise to a fairly large coefficient of the dielectric nonlinearity, ∼2.5×109 J C-4 m-5. Moreover, the PMNT pyrochlore films exhibited superior electrical insulation properties with a relatively high breakdown field (Ebreakdown∼1.5 MV/cm) and a very low leakage current density of about 8.2×10-7 A/cm2 obtained at an electric field intensity as high as 500 kV/cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure changes and electrical properties in Ca[sub 4]Mn[sub 3]O[sub 10] under high pressure at room temperature have been studied using energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation and resistance and capacitance measurements. A phase transition from an orthorhombic to a tetragonal phase occurred during increasing pressure to above 19.3 GPa. The equation of state of Ca[sub 4]Mn[sub 3]O[sub 10] was obtained from the V/V[sub 0]-P relationship. The bulk modulus B[sub 0] and its first-order derivative B'[sub 0] of Ca[sub 4]Mn[sub 3]O[sub 10] were calculated based on the Birch-Mumaghan equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ideal n = 3 member of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phase Ca[sub 4]Mn[sub 3]O[sub 10] was obtained by solid-state reaction under high pressure. This phase has been studied by transmission electron microscopy, convergent beam electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The lattice parameters are derived as a = b = 0.37 nm and c = 2.69 nm with a space group of I4/mmm, which is the space group of ideal RP phase. The advantages of high pressure sintering are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High variability in amino acid (AA) content and digestibility among sources of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) create challenges for nutritionists when using it in precision nutrition feeding programs. The objective of this meta-analysis was to develop prediction equations for standardized ileal digestible content (SIDC) of AA in DDGS for poultry. A meta-analysis based on 86 observations from 19 publications was conducted to develop equations for predicting SIDC of AA based on chemical composition in DDGS. A mixed model was used to develop prediction equations for SIDC of AA, and a backward selection of variables was conducted based on chemical composition of DDGS. Each total AA content was the best predictor of SIDC for all indispensable AA. The prediction equations for SIDC of Met and Lys were y = –0.12 + 1.05 × Met (R2 = 0.899) and y = –0.22 + 0.91 × Lys (R2 = 0.870), respectively. The prediction equations for SIDC of Met and Lys using data from broiler chick assays were y = –0.16 + 1.12 × Met (R2 = 0.809) and y = –0.24 + 0.90 × Lys (R2 = 0.731), respectively, and equations derived from rooster assay data for Met and Lys were y = –0.05 + 0.97 × Met (R2 = 0.996) and y = –0.20 + 0.97 × Lys (R2 = 0.982), respectively. For all the prediction equations, the intercept (=0) and slope (=1) were not different (P > 0.10) between predicted and observed SID AA values, indicating high accuracy of the models. In conclusion, equations for predicting SIDC of AA in DDGS were developed and showed that total concentration of each AA was the best predictor of SDIC. These prediction equations can be used by animal nutritionists to more accurately estimate SIDC of AA among DDGS sources in diet formulations for precision poultry nutrition feeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]