Enhanced antibacterial activity of cotton via silver nanocapsules deposited by atmospheric pressure plasma jet

In this work,the antibacterial activity of cotton containing silver nanocapsules prepared by atmospheric pressure plasma(APP)deposition is investigated.The nanocapsules consist of a shell and a silver nanoparticle(Ag NP)core,where the core is used to bring antibacterial activity,and the shell is utilized to suppress the potential toxicity of Ag NPs.The surface morphology and the elements of the samples are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersive x-ray and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The SEM results show that the skin of the cotton fibers will fall off gradually after APP treatment over 3 min,and the XPS results show that the Ag content will rise to 1.6%after APP deposition for 10 min.Furthermore,the antimicrobial activity tests show that the reduction rates of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus can achieve 100%when the sample is treated for 10 min,which exhibits excellent antibacterial activity.In addition,the UV absorption properties of the cotton will also be correspondingly improved,which brings a broader application prospect for antibacterial cotton.

Enhancing surface adhesion of polytetrafluoroethylene induced by two-step in-situ treatment with radiofrequency capacitively coupled Ar/Ar+CH_(4)+NH_(3) plasma

Although some progress in plasma modification of the polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) surface has been made recently,its adhesion strength still needs to be further improved.In this work,the surface of a PTFE sample was treated with a two-step in-situ method.Firstly,the PTFE surface was treated with capacitively coupled Ar plasma to improve its mechanical interlocking performance;then,Ar+NH_(3)+CH_(4) plasma was used to deposit an a-CNx:H cross-linking layer on the PTFE surface to improve the molecular bonding ability.After treatment,a high specific surface area of 2.20 and a low F/C ratio of 0.32 were achieved on the PTFE surface.Its surface free energy was increased significantly and its maximum adhesion strength reached77.1 N·10 mm^(-1),which is 56% higher than that of the single-step Ar plasma-treated sample and32% higher than that of the single-step Ar+CH_(4)+NH_(3) plasma-treated sample.

Optimal edge-cloud collaboration based strategies for minimizing valid latency of railway environment monitoring system

Response speed is vital for the railway environment monitoring system,especially for the sudden-onset disasters.The edge-cloud collaboration scheme is proved efficient to reduce the latency.However,the data characteristics and communication demand of the tasks in the railway environment monitoring system are all different and changeable,and the latency contribution of each task to the system is discrepant.Hence,two valid latency minimization strategies based on the edge-cloud collaboration scheme is developed in this paper.First,the processing resources are allocated to the tasks based on the priorities,and the tasks are processed parallly with the allocated resources to minimize the system valid latency.Furthermore,considering the differences in the data volume of the tasks,which will induce the waste of the resources for the tasks finished in advance.Thus,the tasks with similar priorities are graded into the same group,and the serial and parallel processing strategies are performed intra-group and inter-group simultaneously.Compared with the other four strategies in four railway monitoring scenarios,the proposed strategies proved latency efficiency to the high-priority tasks,and the system valid latency is reduced synchronously.The performance of the railway environment monitoring system in security and efficiency will be promoted greatly with the proposed scheme and strategies.

Gliding arc discharge in combination with Cu/Cu_(2)O electrocatalysis for ammonia production

Highly efficient and green ammonia production is an important demand for modern agriculture.In this study,a two-step ammonia production method is developed using a gliding arc discharge in combination with Cu/Cu_(2)O electrocatalysis.In this method,NO_(x)is provided by the gliding arc discharge and then electrolyzed by Cu/Cu_(2)O after alkaline absorption.The electrical characteristics,the optical characteristics and the NO_(x)production are investigated in discharges at different input voltage and the gas flow.The dependence of ammonia production through Cu/Cu_(2)O electrocatalysis on pH value and reduction potential are determined by colorimetric method.In our study,two discharge modes are observed.At high input voltage and low gas flow,the discharge is operated with a stable plasma channel which is called the steady arc gliding discharge mode(A-G mode).As lowering input voltage and raising gas flow,the plasma channel is destroyed and high frequency breakdown occurs instead,which is known as the breakdown gliding discharge mode(B-G mode).The optimal NO_(x)production of 7.34 mmol h^(-1)is obtained in the transition stage of the two discharge modes.The ammonia yield reaches0.402 mmol h^(-1)cm^(-2)at pH value of 12.7 and reduction potential of-1.0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE).

Online complex nonlinear industrial process operating optimality assessment using modified robust total kernel partial M-regression

Although industrial processes often perform perfectly under design conditions, they may deviate from the optimal operating point owing to parameters drift, environmental disturbances, etc. Thus, it is necessary to develop efficacious strategies or procedure to assess the process performance online. In this paper, we explore the issue of operating optimality assessment for complex industrial processes based on performance-similarity considering nonlinearities and outliers simultaneously, and a general enforced online performance assessment framework is proposed. In the offline part, a new and modified total robust kernel projection to latent structures algorithm,T-KPRM, is proposed and used to evaluate the complex nonlinear industrial process, which can effectively extract the optimal-index-related process variation information from process data and establish assessment models for each performance grades overcoming the effects of outlier. In the online part, the online assessment results can be obtained by calculating the similarity between the online data from a sliding window and each of the performance grades. Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of online assessment, we propose an online assessment strategy taking account of the effects of noise and process uncertainties. The Euclidean distance between the sliding data window and the optimal evaluation level is employed to measure the contribution rates of variables, which indicate the possible reason for the non-optimal operating performance. The proposed framework is tested on a real industrial case: dense medium coal preparation process, and the results shows the efficiency of the proposed method comparing to the existing method.

CPS architecture design for urban roadway intersections based on MBSE

With the rapid growth of urbanization and the increasing demand for transportation, urban traffic congestion has become a hindrance to individuals’ travel experience. Urban intersections are one of the primary sources of traffic congestion, and these bottlenecks have a negative impact not only on traffic efficacy but also on the surrounding road traffic in the region. To alleviate urban traffic congestion, cyber-physical systems have been widely implemented in the transportation industry, allowing for the perception, analysis, calculation, and dispatching of urban traffic flow, as well as making urban transportation safe, efficient, and quick. As the system scale and functions increase, system design has become increasingly complex, necessitating a deeper comprehension of the system’s structure and interaction relationships to construct a stable and reliable system. Therefore, this study proposes a method for designing cyber-physical systems for urban traffic intersections based on Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). This method models and analyses exhaustively the system’s requirements, functions, and logical architecture using System Modeling Language (SysML). After the architecture design has been completed, an architecture verification and optimization method based on Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) for urban road intersection cyber-physical systems is utilized to analyze the architecture’s reliability by analyzing the failure modes of activities and to optimize the system architecture to improve the design’s efficiency and reliability.

Energy-optimal trajectory planning for solar-powered aircraft using soft actor-critic

High-Altitude Long-Endurance(HALE)solar-powered Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles(UAVs)can utilize solar energy as power source and maintain extremely long cruise endurance,which has attracted extensive attentions from researchers.Trajectory optimization is a promising way to achieve superior flight time because of the finite solar energy absorbed in a day.In this work,a method of trajectory optimization and guidance for HALE solar-powered aircraft based on a Reinforcement Learning(RL)framework is introduced.According to flight and environment information,a neural network controller outputs commands of thrust,attack angle,and bank angle to realize an autonomous flight based on energy maximization.The validity of the proposed method was evaluated in a 5-km radius area in simulation,and results have shown that after one day-night cycle,the battery energy of the RL-controller was improved by 31%and 17%compared with those of a Steady-State(SS)strategy with a constant speed and a constant altitude and a kind of statemachine strategy,respectively.In addition,results of an uninterrupted flight test have shown that the endurance of the RL controller was longer than those of the control cases.

Multi-scale dendritic patterns sequentially superimposed in a primary semi-solid matrix

The principle and control for solidification present crucial challenges.Through in situ and real time observation on the solidification of M50 bearing steel,here we discovered that the base of conventional dendritic arms is constituted by a primary semi-solid matrix.Due to the superimposition of temperature fluctuations from the large to the subtle scale,multi-scale dendritic patterns will sequentially emerge and evolve in the primary semi-solid matrix.These findings redefine the essence of multi-scale dendrites as the multi-scale segregation patterns in the primary semi-solid matrix,reconstitute the time and space sequence in the formation of multi-scale dendrites,and reveal the superimposition of temperature fluctuation as the driving principle.These new understandings will fundamentally influence the solidification field.These results also indicate important engineering applications,such as designing multi-scale dendrites,controlling the dendritic segregation and eliminating the detrimental eutectics.

Corrigendum to“Multi-scale dendritic patterns sequentially superimposed in a primary semi-solid matrix”[J.Mater.Sci.Technol.107(2022)26-33]

In our recently published article,“Multi-scale dendritic patterns sequentially superimposed in a primary semi-solid matrix”[Journal of Materials Science&Technology 107(2022)26-33]”,the picture of Fig.9 was misapplied in Fig.8.It caused the omission of Fig.8 described in the original manuscript.This corrigendum corrects the picture of Fig.8.This corrigendum does not affect the conclusions of that paper.The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Numerical investigation of co-flow jet airfoil with parabolic flap

Both the Active Flow Control(AFC)and the variable-camber technology are considered as efficient ways to enhance the aerodynamic performance of an aircraft.The present study investigated the feasibility of the combination of a Co-Flow Jet(CFJ)airfoil and a parabolic flap,where the Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations and the Spalart-Allmaras(S-A)turbulence model were exploited for the numerical simulation.Several significant geometric parameters,including the injection slot location,the suction slot location,the injection slot angle,the suction slot angle and the airfoil Suction Surface Translation(SST),were selected to study their effects on the aerodynamics of the proposed configuration.Then,an optimized design was created and compared with the baseline airfoil.The results show that the CFJ airfoil combined with the parabolic flap is more beneficial to the aerodynamic performance enhancement at small angles of attack.It is preferable to locate the injection slot at a 2%chord-wise location and the suction slot at a 75%chord-wise location.Both the decrease of the injection slot angle and the augmentation of the suction slot angle could reduce the drag.Furthermore,the SST of 0.5%chord is selected due to its high gain in the corrected aerodynamic efficiency at small angles of attack.Compared with the baseline,the optimized design could increase the lift coefficient and the corrected lift-to-drag ratio by 32.1%and 93.8%respectively at the angle of attack a=4°.

中国淡水蟹分类与分布名录(十足目：拟地蟹科,溪蟹科)

中国是世界上淡水蟹物种多样性最高的国家。然而,迄今为止还没有一个系统的、涵盖全国范围的淡水蟹分类和分布名录。本文收集了涉及中国淡水蟹分类和分布的文献,采用国际上更新的短尾下目淡水蟹类高级阶元分类系统,通过系统梳理,汇编成中国淡水蟹分类与分布名录。该名录共收录了截至2018年1月记述的所有中国淡水蟹类,共计2科45属311种。其中,拟地蟹科(Gecarcinucidae Rathbun,1904)1属28种;溪蟹科(Potamidae Ortmann,1896)44属283种及亚种;中国特有属共计38属,占总数的84%;特有种共计302种,占97%。对各省淡水蟹的分布分析发现,云南是中国淡水蟹物种多样性最丰富的省份,已记述16属50种;其次为台湾(4属41种)。本名录首次全面概括了中国淡水蟹类的分类和分布,可为深入开展全国范围的淡水蟹类生物多样性保护提供科学依据。

大熊猫精液和包皮菌群组成及潜在致病菌调查

【目的】大熊猫是我国国家一级保护动物,其种群面临着传染病和栖息地破碎化等持续威胁,其中生殖系统的细菌感染和菌群失衡会影响大熊猫生殖健康,严重者可导致流产,是引起大熊猫繁殖障碍的原因之一。本研究对精液与包皮分泌物样本的菌群组成情况及分离培养潜在致病菌开展研究。【方法】通过采集13份大熊猫包皮分泌物和12份精液样本,采用16S rRNA扩增子测序技术、细菌培养及PCR鉴定的方法,确定样本中的细菌种类。【结果】菌群组成分析结果显示,在门水平上,厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)的细菌丰度在大熊猫包皮与精液中均为最高;在属水平上,不同时期的雄性大熊猫包皮的菌群可能会发生改变,棒状杆菌属(Corynebacterium)和Dolosicoccus是Ⅰ期包皮样本中最丰富的微生物菌群,相对丰度分别为15.45%和12.40%;链球菌属(Streptococcus)和埃希氏菌属(Escherichia)是Ⅱ期包皮样本中最丰富的微生物菌群,相对分度分别为37.94%和9.68%;拟杆菌属(Bacteroides)和普雷沃氏菌属(Prevotella)是精液样本中最丰富的微生物菌群,相对丰度分别为14.40%和12.88%。菌群多样性分析结果显示,精液样品高于Ⅰ期包皮样品和Ⅱ期包皮样品,Ⅰ期包皮样品和Ⅱ期包皮样品之间无显著差异。通过细菌分离培养得到肺炎克雷伯菌(Klebsiella pneumonia)在内的多种潜在性致病菌。【结论】本研究分析了大熊猫精液和不同时期包皮分泌物的菌群组成,其优势菌属存在差异,大熊猫包皮与精液中存在潜在性致病菌,这可能对大熊猫的生殖系统健康带来威胁,其致病性有待进一步研究。

The 3-dimensional morphology of dendrite during equiaxed solidification of an Al-5 wt.% Cu alloy

In a sample quenched during equiaxed solidification of an Al-5 wt.% Cu alloy, the multi-scales 3-dimensional morphology of equiaxed dendrite was observed. The slim primary stem and secondary branches constitute the frame of dendrite, and rows of dense tertiary branches further divide the 3-dimensional space. In the divided space, the quartic branches grow further. The dendritic branches,which are perpendicular to each other, can change their growth directions and coalesce into a whole. In the tertiary branches and quartic branches, the formation of double branch structures is induced by competitive growth. The branch that wins in the competitive growth will produce a cabbage-like structure by wrapping the failed branches. In addition, the side branch can also wrap the original parent branch to produce cabbage-like structures. Depending on the historical growth direction, the dendritic arms can form vein-like and spicate structures, and the shapes of single dendritic arm may be the cylinder, plate and trapezoid platform. According to the compositions and etching morphology, the single dendritic arm in the final solidification structures should coalesce from a fine porous structure. The porous structures at different length-scales are principally induced by the preferential growth. Based on 3-dimensional morphology of equiaxed dendrite, a new research object for the investigation of microsegregation was suggested.