Identification of earthquake induced structural damage based on synchroextracting transform

Several popular time-frequency techniques,including the Wigner-Ville distribution,smoothed pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution,wavelet transform,synchrosqueezing transform,Hilbert-Huang transform,and Gabor-Wigner transform,are investigated to determine how well they can identify damage to structures.In this work,a synchroextracting transform(SET)based on the short-time Fourier transform is proposed for estimating post-earthquake structural damage.The performance of SET for artificially generated signals and actual earthquake signals is examined with existing methods.Amongst other tested techniques,SET improves frequency resolution to a great extent by lowering the influence of smearing along the time-frequency plane.Hence,interpretation and readability with the proposed method are improved,and small changes in the time-varying frequency characteristics of the damaged buildings are easily detected through the SET method.

High corrosion and wear resistant electroless Ni–P gradient coatings on aviation aluminum alloy parts

A Ni–P alloy gradient coating consisting of multiple electroless Ni–P layers with various phosphorus contents was prepared on the aviation aluminum alloy. Several characterization and electrochemical techniques were used to characterize the different Ni–P coatings’ morphologies, phase structures, elemental compositions, and corrosion protection. The gradient coating showed good adhesion and high corrosion and wear resistance, enabling the application of aluminum alloy in harsh environments. The results showed that the double zinc immersion was vital in obtaining excellent adhesion (81.2 N). The optimal coating was not peeled and shredded even after bending tests with angles higher than 90°and was not corroded visually after 500 h of neutral salt spray test at 35℃. The high corrosion resistance was attributed to the misaligning of these micro defects in the three different nickel alloy layers and the amorphous structure of the high P content in the outer layer. These findings guide the exploration of functional gradient coatings that meet the high application requirement of aluminum alloy parts in complicated and harsh aviation environments.

Comparison of immune responses and intestinal flora in epicutaneously sensitized BALB/c or C57BL/6 mouse models of food allergy

Cutaneous exposure to food allergens through a disrupted skin barrier is recognized as an important cause of food allergy,and the cutaneous sensitized mouse model has been established to investigate relevant allergic disorders.However,the role of different genetic backgrounds of mice on immune responses to food allergens upon epicutaneous sensitization is largely unknown.In this study,two strains of mice,i.e.,the BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice,were epicutaneously sensitized with ovalbumin on atopic dermatitis(AD)-like skin lesions,followed by intragastric challenge to induce IgE-mediated food allergy.Allergic outcomes were measured as clinical signs,specific antibodies and cytokines,and immune cell subpopulations,as well as changes in intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota.Results showed that both strains of mice exhibited typical food-allergic symptoms with a Th2-skewed response.The C57BL/6 mice,rather than the BALB/c mice,were fitter for establishing an epicutaneously sensitized model of food allergy since a stronger Th2-biased response and severer disruptions in the intestinal barrier and gut homeostasis were observed.This study provides knowledge for selecting an appropriate mouse model to study food-allergic responses associated with AD-like skin lesions and highlights the role of genetic variations in the immune mechanism underlying pathogenesis of food allergy.

Research Progress of Non-oxide and High Entropy Ceramic Coatings

Ceramic coatings play a keyrole in extending the service life of materials in aerospaceandenergy fields byprotectingmaterials from high temperature,oxidation,corrosion and thermal stress.Non-oxide and high entropy ceramics are new emerging coating materials which have been researched and developed in recent years.Compared with traditional oxide ceramics,non-oxide ceramics have better high temperature stability,oxidation resistance and erosion resistance.These characteristics make non-oxide ceramics perform well in extreme environments.It is particularly noteworthy that the non-oxide high entropy ceramic is a uniform solid solution composed of at least four or fiveatoms.Their unique structure and outstanding propertiesshow great potential application in the field of coating.In this paper,the researches aboutregulating microstructure,preparation technology and properties of nitride and its high entropy system,carbide and its high entropy system and boride and its high entropy system in coating field are summarized,and their future development and prospects are prospected.

Corrigendum to“Emerging Organic Contaminants in Chinese Surface Water:Identification of Priority Pollutants”[Engineering 11(2022)111-125]

The authors regret that the acceptable daily intake(ADI)values of 0.082 μg·kg^(-1)·d^(-1) for N,N-diethyl-3-methyl benzoyl amide(DEET),0.19 μg·kg^(-1)·d^(-1) for triclosan,and 0.83 μg·kg^(-1)·d^(-1) for acetaminophen cited from a review by Murray et al.[1],as shown in Table S4 in Appendix A of the original article,were not correct.

Emerging Organic Contaminants in Chinese Surface Water:Identification of Priority Pollutants

The occurrence and impacts of emerging organic contaminants(EOCs)in the aquatic environment have gained widespread attention over the past two decades.Due to large number of potential contaminants,monitoring campaigns,treatment plants,and proposed regulations should preferentially focus on specific pollutants with the highest potential for ecological and human health effects.In the present study,a multi-criteria screening approach based on hazard and exposure potentials was developed for prioritization of 405 unregulated EOCs already present in Chinese surface water.Hazard potential,exposure potential,and risk quotients for ecological and human health effects were quantitatively analyzed and used to screen contaminants.The hazard potential was defined by contaminant persistence,bioaccumulation,ecotoxicity,and human health effects;similarly,the exposure potential was a function of contaminant concentration and detection frequency.In total,123 compounds passed the preselection process,which involved a priority index equal to the normalized hazard potential multiplied by the normalized exposure potential.Based on the prioritization scheme,11 compounds were identified as top-priority,and 37 chemicals were defined as high-priority.The results obtained by the priority index were compared with four other prioritization schemes based on exposure potential,hazard potential,or risk quotients for ecological effects or human health.The priority index effectively captured and integrated the results from the more simplistic prioritization schemes.Based on identified data gaps,four uncertainty categories were classified to recommend:①regular monitoring,derivation of environmental quality standards,and development of control strategies;②increased monitoring;③fortified hazard assessment;and④increased efforts to collect occurrence and toxicity data.Overall,20 pollutants were recommended as priority EOCs.The prioritized list of contaminants provides the necessary information for authoritative regulations to monitor,control,evaluate,and manage the risks of environmentally-relevant EOCs in Chinese surface water.

EFFICIENT POLYMER PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES BASED ON POLYMER D-A BLENDS

Recent work demonstrated that efficient solar-energy conversion could be achieved in polymer photovoltaic cells (PVCs) based on interpenetrating bi-continuous networks([1,2]). In this paper we present a comprehensive study on improving energy conversion efficiencies of PVCs based on composite films of MEBPPV and fullerene derivatives. Carrier collection efficiency of ca. 30% el/ph and energy conversion efficiency of 3.9% were achieved at 500 nm. At reverse bias of 15 V, the photosensitivity reached 0.8 A/W, corresponding to a quantum efficiency over 100% el/ph. These results suggest that high efficiency photoelectric conversion can be achieved in polymer devices with M-P-M structure. These devices are promising for practical applications such as plastic solar cells and plastic photodetectors.

Electrochemical Fabrication of Pd-Ag Alloy Nanowire Arrays in Anodic Alumina Oxide Template

The synthesis of Pd-Ag alloy nanowires in nanopores of porous anodic aluminum oxide （AAO） template by electrochemical deposition technique was reported. Pd-Ag alloy nanowires with 16%-25% Ag content are expected to serve as candidates of useful nanomaterials for the hydrogen sensors. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy dispersed X-ray spectroscopy （EDX） were employed to characterize the morphologies and compositions of the Pd-Ag nanowires. X-ray diffraction （XRD） was used to characterize the phase properties of the Pd-Ag nanowires. Pd-Ag alloy nanowire arrays with 17.28%-23.76% Ag content have been successfully fabricated by applying potentials ranging from -0.8 to -1.0 V （vs SCE）. The sizes of the alloy nanowires are in agreement with the diameter of AAO nanopores. The underpotential deposition of Ag＋ on Pd and Au plays an important role in producing an exceptionally high Ag content in the alloy. Alloy compositions can still be controlled by adjusting the ion concentration ratio of Pd^2＋ and Ag＋ and the electrodeposition processes. XRD shows that nanowires obtained are in the form of alloy of Pd and Ag.

Effects of laser power density on static and dynamic mechanical properties of dissimilar stainless steel welded joints

The mechanical properties of laser welded joints under impact loadings such as explosion and car crash etc. are critical for the engineering designs. The hardness, static and dynamic mechanical properties of AISI304 and AISI316L dissimilar stainless steel welded joints by CO2 laser were experimentally studied. The dynamic strainstress curves at the strain rate around 103 s-1 were obtained by the split Hopkinson tensile bar （SHTB）. The static mechanical properties of the welded joints have little changes with the laser power density and all fracture occurs at 316 L side. However, the strain rate sensitivity has a strong depen- dence on laser power density. The value of strain rate factor decreases with the increase of laser power density. The welded joint which may be applied for the impact loading can be obtained by reducing the laser power density in the case of welding quality assurance.

Cerebrospinal fluid diagnostic markers for two-dimensional electrophoresis-mass spectrometry in Parkinson’s disease patients

BACKGROUND： Previous studies have confirmed the existence of specific proteins in body fluid of Parkinson＇s disease （PD） patients. However, the existing research has contained several interference factors with poor reproducibility and has not focused on patients grouped according to disease duration. OBJECTIVE： To verify differential expression of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid of PD patients grouped in order of disease severity through the use of two-dimensional electrophoresis-mass spectrometry methods. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： The proteomic-based, case-control study was performed between September 2008 and June 2009 at the Key Laboratory of Neurology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 52 outpatients and/or inpatients, who were admitted to the Department of Neurology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between 2008 and 2009, were randomized into the present study. Among them, 27 PD patients served as the PD group and were assigned to three subgroups according to modified Webster, Hoehn, and Yahr rating scales： 14 = mild, 8 = moderate, and 5 = severe; non-PD group of 16 patients included 5 cases of viral meningitis, 3 cases of acute myelitis, 1 case of Guillain-Barre syndrome, 2 cases of tuberculous meningitis, 2 cases of restless legs syndrome, and 3 cases of essential tremor; control group （n = 9） consisted of muscular tension headache in 6 cases, as well as syncope, trigeminal neuralgia, idiopathic orthostatic hypotension in 1 case. METHODS： Cerebrospinal fluid was collected from the involved patients using the lumbar puncture method. Proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Characteristics of protein electrophoresis patterns were analyzed, differentially expressed proteins were detected using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry, and protein data were analyzed in the Mascot database. RESULTS： Five protein electropherograms were analyzed by PDQuest 8.0, and （789 ± 32） protein spots were observed. There were significant differences in four protein spots in each of the PD sub-groups compared with the non-disease and control groups. Expression was down-regulated in three protein spots and up-regulated in one protein spot; 100% repetition rate was observed in four protein spots. According to the Mascot database, protein spots with down-regulated expression were as follows： DNA-guided RNA polymerase III subunit RPC5 （score： 50 points）; double serine, threonine, and tyrosine protein kinase （score： 64 points, P 〈 0.05）; activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein （score： 58 points, P 〈 0.05）. However, G2 mitotic-specific cyclin was up-regulated （score： 84 points, P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Differential protein expression in the cerebrospinal fluid of PD patients was detected by two-dimensional electrophoresis-mass spectrometry, revealing changes in DNA-guided RNA polymerase III subunit RPC5, double serine, threonine, and tyrosine protein kinase, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, and G2 mitotic cell cyclin, with good reproducibility.

Effect of thienorphine on intestinal transit and isolated guinea-pig ileum contraction

AIM: To evaluate the effect of thienorphine on small intestinal transit in vivo and on guinea-pig ileum (GPI) contraction in vitro . METHODS: The effects of thienorphine on intestinal transit were examined in mice and in isolated GPI. Buprenorphine and morphine served as controls. The distance traveled by the head of the charchol and the total length of the intestine were measured in vivo . Gastrointestinal transit was expressed as a percentage of the distance traveled by the head of the marker relative to the total length of the small intestine. The isolated GPI preparations were connected to an isotonic force transducer and equilibrated for at least 1 h before exposure to drugs. Acetylcholine was used for muscle stimulation. RESULTS: Thienorphine (0.005-1.0 mg/kg, ig ) or bu-prenorphine (0.005-1.0 mg/kg, sc ) dose-dependently significantly inhibited gut transit compared with saline. Thienorphine inhibited gut transit less than buprenorphine. The maximum inhibition by thienorphine on the intestinal transit was 50%-60%, whereas the maximum inhibition by morphine on gut transit was about 100%. Thienorphine also exhibited less inhibition on acetylcholine-induced contraction of GPI, with a maximum inhibition of 65%, compared with 93% inhibition by buprenorphine and 100% inhibition by morphine. Thienorphine induced a concentration-dependent decrease in the basal tonus of spontaneous movement of the GPI, the effect of which was weaker than that with buprenorphine. The duration of the effect of thienorphine on the GPI was longer than that with buprenorphine. CONCLUSION: Thienorphine had less influence, but a longer duration of action on GPI contraction and moderately inhibited intestinal transit.

Incipient Gear Fault Detection Using Adaptive Impulsive Wavelet Filter Based on Spectral Negentropy

Adaptive wavelet filtering is a very important fault feature extraction method in the domain of condition monitoring;however, owing to the time-consuming computation and difficulty of choosing criteria used to represent incipient faults, the engineering applications are limited to some extent. To detect incipient gear faults at a fast speed, a new criterion is proposed to optimize the parameters of the modified impulsive wavelet for constructing an optimal wavelet filter to detect impulsive gear faults. First, a new criterion based on spectral negentropy is proposed. Then, a novel search strategy is applied to optimize the parameters of the impulsive wavelet based on the new criterion. Finally,envelope spectral analysis is applied to determine the incipient fault characteristic frequency. Both the simulation and experimental validation demonstrated the superiority of the proposed approach.

Wnt1/β-catenin signaling up-regulates spinal VGLUT2 expression to maintain neuropathic pain in mice

OBJECTIVE The present study was aimed to investigate the role of Wnt/β-catenin sig.naling in spinal VGLUT2 regulation and neuropathic pain.METHODS To elucidate the association be.tween VGLUT2 and neuropathic pain,we determined the expression and distribution characteristics of VGLUT2 in mice subjected to spared nerve injury(SNI),and then observed the effects of two VGLUT2 targeting shRNAs on mechanical allodynia and glutamate release.The effects of Wnt/β-catenin signal.ing on VGLUT2 expression and pain behavior were investigated by using Wnt agonist,Wnt1,and Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor XAV939 in SNI mice.RESULTS SNI surgery induced significant up-regula.tion of VGLUT2 on postoperative days 7,14,and 21.Double immunofluorescence labeling of VGLUT2 with NeuN,MAP2,Iba-1,or GFAP showed that VGLUT2 was mainly expressed in neurons in the dor.sal horn of the spinal cord after SNI(NeuN,MAP2).Intrathecal administration of VGLUT2 shRNAs be.fore or after SNI surgery significantly decreased mechanical allodynia and glutamate release.Mean.while,Wnt1/β-catenin signaling increased significantly after SNI surgery.Over-expression of β-catenin in PC12 cells increased VGLUT2 protein level,intrathecal administration of Wnt agonist or Wnt1 signifi.cantly increased VGLUT2 protein expression in spinal cord,while Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor XAV939 decreased VGLUT2 expression in PC12 cells and spinal cord.Additionally,intrathecal admin.istration of XAV939 7 days after SNI significantly attenuated mechanical allodynia in mice,which was in accordance with down-regulation of VGLUT2 protein levels.VGLUT2 shRNAs significantly attenuat.ed Wnt agonist or Wnt1 induced mechanical allodynia.CONCLUSION Wnt1/β-catenin signaling path.way up-regu-lates the spinal VGLUT2 expression,and this regulation is involved in neuropathic pain behavior.

Investigation on Third-Order Optical Nonlinearities of Two Organometallic Dmit2- Complexes Using Z-Scan Technique

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of two dmit organometallic complexes, [(CH3)4N] [Au(C3S5)2] (MeAu) and [(CH3)4N][Ni(C3S5)2] (Me Ni) in acetone solutions, were characterized us- ing a short pulse Z-scan technique at 1064 nm wavelength. Self-defocusing effects were found in both samples and stronger saturable absorp-tion was observed in MeNi solution comparing with that of MeAu. The origins were analyzed for the differences between the results. Two figures of merit W and T were also calculated to evalu-ate the suitability of two materials for all-optical integrated devices. The results of W=22.84 and T≈0 of MeAu make it an excellent candidate for the all-optical applications.

Research on Governance Structure of Big Data of Civil Aviation

Facing with the enormous data scale of the civil aviation industry, the vital issue that enterprises must consider is how to manage and make use of data to play its value. In this study, the content of the governance of big data of civil aviation is analyzed and this paper put forward the specific governance of big data resources of civil aviation to provide relevant support of the governance of big data resources of civil aviation.

Formation of free-surface vortex and vortex suppression by rotating stopper-rod at end of tundish casting

A rotating stopper-rod technique was proposed to suppress the formation of free-surface vortex in the tundish.The large eddy simulation model coupled with volume of fluid model was developed to study the steel–slag–gas three-phase flow behavior.The critical slag entrapment height of the free-surface vortex and mass of residual steel were predicted at different rotating speeds(30,60,90 and 120 r/min)of the rotating stopper-rod.The numerical model was verified by water model experiment.The results showed that by rotating the stopper-rod in the opposite direction of the vortex above the submerged entry nozzle,the formation of vortex can be effectively disturbed and the critical height of the free-surface vortex can be reduced.Particularly for the 2nd strand,when the rotating speeds are 30,60,90 and 120 r/min,the critical height of the free-surface vortex above the 2nd strand is 7.3,4.7,6.3 and 7.4 cm,respectively.A reasonable rotating speed should be 60 r/min,which can reduce about 2 tons of residual steel.Other rotating speeds just can reduce about 1.6 tons of residual steel.

Nanocrystalline WSe_(2)excels at high-performance anode for Na storage via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method

For the next large-scale energy storage systems,sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)with excellent electrochemical performance are promising.However,the exploration of anode materials with high specific capacity,fascinating cycling stability and rate capability is still restricted.Among transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs),tungsten diselenide(WSe_(2))has been regarded as an effective anode material for SIBs and has been extensively studied,due to high theoretical capacity and unique twodimensional layered structure.Herein,nanocrystalline WSe_(2)is prepared by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method.Compared with the micro-scale WSe_(2),benefiting from the high specific surface area of highly ordered nano-flake structures and short ion/electron transport paths,nanocrystalline WSe_(2)shows excellent electrochemical performance in Na storage.After 1000 cycles at a current density of 2 A·g^(-1),a high specific capacity of 264.4 mA·h·g^(-1)is still maintained.The full cell matched with the Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3) cathode can deliver an excellent reversible specific capacity of 196.5 mA·h·g^(-1)after 100 cycles at 0.5 A·g^(-1).