Stratigraphic framework and sedimentary evolution during the Cryogenian-Ediacaran transition in northeastern Sichuan Basin,South China

The northeastern Sichuan area in the northern Yangtze margin has unique Ediacaran geological records,especially the Doushantuo Formation(DST),and become a hot research area in recent years.However,the Cryogenian-Ediacaran(C-E)boundary has not been precisely identified,which restricts the in-depth study of geological information during this crucial transitional period and is unfavorable for a systematic and complete understanding of the Yangtze Block and even the global paleogeographic pattern.This study conducted stratigraphy,sedimentology,and chronostratigraphy to establish the stratigraphic framework and sedimentary evolution of the C-E transition strata in northeastern Sichuan.The results showed that the Ediacaran sediments,without the cap dolomite,unconformably overlaid the Cryogenian sediments in the studied area.The Member II of the DST,characterized by 50-160 m of red-green sandstone(approximately equivalent to the original Chengkou“Guanyinya Formation”),directly overlaid the Cryogenian sediments and displayed a 623±2.3 Ma maximum depositional age from the detrital zircon U-Pb dating.Regional stratigraphic correlations indicate that the C-E transition strata in northeastern Sichuan had a consistent lithological association and sedimentary sequence characteristics but differed from the Three Gorges.Typically,the upper Nantuo massive glacial diamictites transition to the icebergs rafted lonestone-bearing mudstones at the top,then change upward to DST barrier coast sandstones.The proposed DST of the northeastern Sichuan Basin was divided into three lithostratigraphic members without the regional Member I cap dolomite:(i)Member II purple-red,gray-green sandstone strata,(ii)MemberⅢblack mudstone strata,and(iii)Member IV P-Mn bearing strata.During the C-E transition,the study area experienced(i)the global deglaciation stage in the terminal Marinoan glaciation and(ii)the filling-leveling up stage with clastic rocks in the early Ediacaran.Overall,the early Ediacaran of northeastern Sichuan succeeded the paleogeographic features of the late Cryogenian.

Burning surface formation mechanism of laser-controlled 5-aminotetrazole propellant

As an innovative propulsion technique, combustion mechanism of laser-augmented chemical propulsion has still to be ascertained. Benefiting from high nitrogen content and thermal stability, 5-aminotetrazole is a suitable ingredient for LACP. Under a flowing nitrogen environment, two kinds of unique burning surfaces were observed to occur for 5-ATZ, used as a single reacting propellant ingredient with the addition of carbon, under laser ablation. Both surfaces are hollow structures and differ by the possible presence of edges. Using micro computed tomography, the 3D perspective structures of both surfaces were revealed. Resorting to various characterization methods, a unified formation mechanism for both surfaces is proposed. This mechanism specifically applies to laser ablation, but could be crucial to common burning mechanisms in LACP.

Simulation of jet-flow solid fraction during spray forming

A numerical model was developed to simulate the jet-flow solid fraction of W18Cr4 V high-speed steel during spray forming. The whole model comprises two submodels: one is an individual droplet model, which describes the motion and thermal behaviors of individual droplets on the basis of Newton's laws of motion and the convection heat transfer mechanism; the other is a droplet distribution model, which is used to calculate the droplet size distribution. After being verified, the model was used to analyze the effects of parameters, including the initial gas velocity, deposition distance, superheat degree, and the ratio of gas-to-metal mass flow rates, on the jet-flow solid fraction. Finally, an equation to predict the jet-flow solid fraction directly and conveniently according to the parameters was presented. The values predicted by the equation show good agreement with those calculated by the numerical model.

Controllable combustion behaviors of the laser-controlled solid propellant

Microsatellites have been widely applied in the fields of communication,remote sensing,navigation and science exploration due to its characteristics of low cost,flexible launch mode and short development period.However,conventional solid-propellant have difficulties in starting and interrupting combustion because combustion is autonomously sustained after ignition Herein,we proposed a new type of solid-propellant named laser-controlled solid propellant,which is sensitive to laser irradiation and can be started or interrupted by switching on/off the continuous wave laser.To demonstrate the feasibility and investigate the controllable combustion behaviors under different laser on/off conditions,the combus tion parameters including burning rate,ignition delay time and platform pressure were tested using pressure sensor,high-speed camera and thermographic camera.The results showed that the increase of laser-on or laser-off duration both will lead to the decrease of propellant combustion performance during re-ignition and re-combustion process.This is mainly attributed to the laser attenuation caused by the accumulation of combustion residue and the change of chamber ambient temperature.Simultaneously the multiple ignition tests revealed that the increased chamber ambient temperature after combustion can make up for the energy loss of laser attenuation and expansion of chamber cavity.However,the laser-controlled combustion performance of solid propellant displayed a decrease trend with the addi-tion of ignition times.Nevertheless,the results still exchibited good laser-controlled agility of laser-controlled solid propellant and manifested its inspiring potential in many aspects of space missions.

Status of reproductive health knowledge for junior high school students in Guangzhou city

Objective To understand the status of reproductive health knowledge for junior high school students in Guangzhou city and provide the base data for reproductive health education. Methods A total of l 210 students including 657 boys and 553 girls aged 12 ~15 years were surveyed with anonymous self-administrated questionnaire. The students were from a middle school in suburb of Guangzhou city. The questionnaire contained basic concepts of reproduction, love, sex, contraceptives, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases （STDs）. Analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and Chi square tests for differences between boys and girls. Results The students mostly had experienced menarche （94%） or first spermatorrhea （83.6%）. About 58. 4% of students just knew little about process of puberty, fertilization, and contraception. Far more boys than girls considered that the effect of abortion on physical injury was harmless （30.4% and 9.6%, P〈O.O01）. More than 60% of respon- dents knew the route of transmission of STDs well but were poor understanding of adverse impact of STDs. The majority of the students did not consider sexual relation- ship acceptable at their age, a viewpoint that was more strongly held by girls （61.6%） than boys （45.1%） （P〈0.001）. Just 35.5% of boys would refuse when the lovers required to have a sex activity, far less than girls （76.1%） （P〈0.001）. The rate of sex intercourses among students was 5%, and a slightly higher proportion （46%） had never used contraception among those who had sexual activity. The demands of students on reproductive health were mainly on how to deal with the relationship with lovers （56. 0%）, knowledge on sexual health and menses （41.7%）, sex moral knowledge （48.3%）, contraception （45.0%）, and preventive measures of STDs/acquired immune deficiency syndrome （AIDS） （47. 0%）. Conclusion The reproductive health knowledge for the students was at very low level There were some differences on the knowledge mastered by boys and girls while the sexual opinion of boys was more open than girls. It was urgent to carry out education among junior high school students to promote their reproductive health.