On a Fixed Value Theorem for Directed Areas in Conic Circumscribed Polygons and Applications

Using polar equations for conic sections, we research conic circumscribed n-sided polygons（n ≥ 4） deeply on the basis of papers[1-3]. We obtain a general fixed value theorem for directed areas of some triangles in conic circumscribed n-sided polygons and derive as many as n（n - 3） concurrent points of three lines and some other collinear, equiareal results in conic circumscribed n-sided polygons（n ≥ 4）. So the results of papers[1-3] are unified.

Printability disparities in heterogeneous material combinations via laser directed energy deposition:a comparative study

Additive manufacturing provides achievability for the fabrication of bimetallic and multi-material structures;however,the material compatibility and bondability directly affect the parts’formability and final quality.It is essential to understand the underlying printability of different material combinations based on an adapted process.Here,the printability disparities of two common and attractive material combinations(nickel-and iron-based alloys)are evaluated at the macro and micro levels via laser directed energy deposition(DED).The deposition processes were captured using in situ high-speed imaging,and the dissimilarities in melt pool features and track morphology were quantitatively investigated within specific process windows.Moreover,the microstructure diversity of the tracks and blocks processed with varied material pairs was comparatively elaborated and,complemented with the informative multi-physics modeling,the presented non-uniformity in mechanical properties(microhardness)among the heterogeneous material pairs was rationalized.The differences in melt flow induced by the unlike thermophysical properties of the material pairs and the resulting element intermixing and localized re-alloying during solidification dominate the presented dissimilarity in printability among the material combinations.This work provides an in-depth understanding of the phenomenological differences in the deposition of dissimilar materials and aims to guide more reliable DED forming of bimetallic parts.

Review on laser directed energy deposited aluminum alloys

Lightweight aluminum(Al)alloys have been widely used in frontier fields like aerospace and automotive industries,which attracts great interest in additive manufacturing(AM)to process high-value Al parts.As a mainstream AM technique,laser-directed energy deposition(LDED)shows good scalability to meet the requirements for large-format component manufacturing and repair.However,LDED Al alloys are highly challenging due to their inherent poor printability(e.g.low laser absorption,high oxidation sensitivity and cracking tendency).To further promote the development of LDED high-performance Al alloys,this review offers a deep understanding of the challenges and strategies to improve printability in LDED Al alloys.The porosity,cracking,distortion,inclusions,element evaporation and resultant inferior mechanical properties(worse than laser powder bed fusion)are the key challenges in LDED Al alloys.Processing parameter optimizations,in-situ alloy design,reinforcing particle addition and field assistance are the efficient approaches to improving the printability and performance of LDED Al alloys.The underlying correlations between processes,alloy innovation,characteristic microstructures,and achievable performances in LDED Al alloys are discussed.The benchmark mechanical properties and primary strengthening mechanism of LDED Al alloys are summarized.This review aims to provide a critical and in-depth evaluation of current progress in LDED Al alloys.Future opportunities and perspectives in LDED high-performance Al alloys are also outlined.

Spontaneous Recovery in Directed Dynamical Networks

Complex networked systems,which range from biological systems in the natural world to infrastructure systems in the human-made world,can exhibit spontaneous recovery after a failure;for example,a brain may spontaneously return to normal after a seizure,and traffic flow can become smooth again after a jam.Previous studies on the spontaneous recovery of dynamical networks have been limited to undirected networks.However,most real-world networks are directed.To fill this gap,we build a model in which nodes may alternately fail and recover,and we develop a theoretical tool to analyze the recovery properties of directed dynamical networks.We find that the tool can accurately predict the final fraction of active nodes,and the prediction accuracy decreases as the fraction of bidirectional links in the network increases,which emphasizes the importance of directionality in network dynamics.Due to different initial states,directed dynamical networks may show alternative stable states under the same control parameter,exhibiting hysteresis behavior.In addition,for networks with finite sizes,the fraction of active nodes may jump back and forth between high and low states,mimicking repetitive failure-recovery processes.These findings could help clarify the system recovery mechanism and enable better design of networked systems with high resilience.

Effect of hot isostatic pressure on the microstructure and tensile properties of γ'-strengthened superalloy fabricated through induction-assisted directed energy deposition

The microstructure characteristics and strengthening mechanism of Inconel738LC(IN-738LC) alloy prepared by using induction-assisted directed energy deposition(IDED) were elucidated through the investigation of samples subjected to IDED under 1050℃ preheating with and without hot isostatic pressing(HIP,1190℃,105 MPa,and 3 h).Results show that the as-deposited sample mainly consisted of epitaxial columnar crystals and inhomogeneously distributed γ’ phases in interdendritic and dendritic core regions.After HIP,grain morphology changed negligibly,whereas the size of the γ’ phase became increasingly even.After further heat treatment(HT,1070℃,2 h + 845℃,24 h),the γ’ phase in the as-deposited and HIPed samples presented a bimodal size distribution,whereas that in the as-deposited sample showed a size that remained uneven.The comparison of tensile properties revealed that the tensile strength and uniform elongation of the HIP + HTed sample increased by 5% and 46%,respectively,due to the synergistic deformation of bimodal γ’phases,especially large cubic γ’ phases.Finally,the relationship between phase transformations and plastic deformations in the IDEDed sample was discussed on the basis of generalized stability theory in terms of the trade-off between thermodynamics and kinetics.

Revealing precipitation behavior and mechanical response of wire-arc directed energy deposited Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy by tailoring aging procedures

Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy,as a typical magnesium rare-earth(Mg-RE)alloy,is gaining popularity in the advanced equipment manufacturing fields owing to its noticeable age-hardening properties and high specific strength.However,it is extremely challenging to prepare wrought components with large dimensions and complex shapes because of the poor room-temperature processability of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy.Herein,we report a wire-arc directed energy deposited(DED)Mg-10.45Gd-2.27Y-0.52Zr(wt.%,GW102K)alloy with high RE content presenting a prominent combination of strength and ductility,realized by tailored nanoprecipitates through an optimized heat treatment procedure.Specifically,the solution-treated sample exhibits excellent ductility with an elongation(EL)of(14.6±0.1)%,while the aging-treated sample at 200°C for 58 h achieves an ultra-high ultimate tensile strength(UTS)of(371±1.5)MPa.Besides,the aging-treated sample at 250°C for 16 h attains a good strength-ductility synergy with a UTS of(316±2.1)MPa and a EL of(8.5±0.1)%.Particularly,the evolution mechanisms of precipitation response induced by various aging parameters and deformation behavior caused by nanoprecipitates type were also systematically revealed.The excellent ductility resulted from coordinating localized strains facilitated by active slip activity.And the ultra-high strength should be ascribed to the dense nano-β'hampering dislocation motion.Additionally,the shearable nano-β1 contributed to the good strength-ductility synergy.This work thus offers insightful understanding into the nanoprecipitates manipulation and performance tailoring for the wire-arc DED preparation of large-sized Mg-Gd-Y-Zr components with complex geometries.

A Non-parametric Gradient-Based Shape Optimization Approach for Solving Inverse Problems in Directed Self-Assemblyof Block Copolymers

We consider the inverse problem of finding guiding pattern shapes that result in desired self-assembly morphologies of block copolymer melts.Specifically,we model polymer selfassembly using the self-consistent field theory and derive,in a non-parametric setting,the sensitivity of the dissimilarity between the desired and the actual morphologies to arbitrary perturbations in the guiding pattern shape.The sensitivity is then used for the optimization of the confining pattern shapes such that the dissimilarity between the desired and the actual morphologies is minimized.The efficiency and robustness of the proposed gradient-based algorithm are demonstrated in a number of examples related to templating vertical interconnect accesses(VIA).

DIRECTED HYPERGRAPH THEORY AND DECOMPOSITION CONTRACTION METHOD

A new branch of hypergraph theory-directed hyperaph theory and a kind of new methods-dicomposition contraction(DCP, PDCP and GDC) methods are presented for solving hypernetwork problems.lts computing time is lower than that of ECP method in several order of magnitude.

Cytochrome P450 Directed Prodrug Activation Therapy in Research of Cancer Enzymology

Cancer enzymology is a promising filiation of bio-medical sciences. In thepast decades, enzymes, such as GST(glutathione S-transferase) , PKC(protein kinase C) , Topo(DNAtopoisomerases), TK(tyrosine kinase), CD (bacterial cytosine deaminase), CPG2(carboxypeptidase G2) ,and PNP (purine nucleoside phosphorylase), have been known to bear close relations to cancer. Theirspecific expression and influence on the process of tumor initiation, promotion and progressionattract scientists to apply them as a biochemical marker of certain malignant tumor, a predictor ofresponse in cancer chemotherapy; to apply them to drug design, tumor prevention and as adjuvant toradiotherapy or surgery.

Child-directed Speech and Foreigner Talk

The article reviews child-directed speech and foreigner talk respectively and comparatively. It compares the features, functions and some of the similarities as well as differences of the two registers. They should be thought of as dynamic, changing in accordance with various situational factors rather than static, fixed sets of features.

Prediction of Hidden Granites in the Luziyuan Area of Yunnan Province and the Prospecting Direction

The Fe-Pb-Zn-Cu polymetallic deposits in the Luziyuan area, are of a sedimentary-reformed type related with magmatic hydrothermalism. Previous researches have suggested that the mineralization is closely related to the hidden granites, but little is known about these granites including their burial depth and scale, which has limited the establishment of prospecting models and the optimization of prospecting targets. Geophysical methods have a great exploration depth, and have played a unique role in the prediction of hidden granites. It is shown that granites have low density and high resistivity,

Yield ratios and directed flows of light particles from proton-rich nuclei-induced collisions

The neutron-to-proton and3 H-to-3 He yield ratios, and the directed flows of particles dependent on a reduced rapidity, the transverse momentum per nucleon,and a reduced impact parameter are investigated for ^(28)S+^(28)Si and ^(32)S+^(28)Si systems at 50 and 400 MeV/u using an isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model.The results show that these yield ratios of projectile-like fragments are approximately equal to the constituent neutron-to-proton ratio of the projectile. There are clear differences of the directed flows for isospin-related fragments neutron and proton,~3H and ~3He from ^(28)S+^(28)Si collisions.The differences in directed flows for neutrons and protons and ~3H–~3He from a proton-rich nucleus ^(28)S- induced collisions are noticeably larger than those from a stable nucleus ^(32)S- induced reactions under medium impact parameters. Thus, the yield ratios and differences in directed flows for the neutrons and protons and ~3H–~3He under medium impact parameters are proposed as possible observable items for studying isospin physics.

Exploring evolutionary features of directed weighted hazard network in the subway construction

A better understanding of previous accidents is an effective way to reduce the occurrence of similar accidents in the future. In this paper, a complex network approach is adopted to construct a directed weighted hazard network(DWHN) to analyze topological features and evolution of accidents in the subway construction. The nodes are hazards and accidents, the edges are multiple relationships of these nodes and the weight of edges are occurrence times of repetitive relationships. The results indicate that the DWHN possesses the property of small-world with small average path length and large clustering coefficient, indicating that hazards have better connectivity and will spread widely and quickly in the network. Moreover,the DWHN has the property of scale-free network for the cumulative degree distribution follows a power-law distribution.It makes DWHN more vulnerable to target attacks. Controlling key nodes with higher degree, strength and betweenness centrality will destroy the connectivity of DWHN and mitigate the spreading of accidents in the network. This study is helpful for discovering inner relationships and evolutionary features of hazards and accidents in the subway construction.

Polyethylene glycol microspheres loaded with irinotecan for arterially directed embolic therapy of metastatic liver cancer

AIM To study tumor response, and tolerability of arterially directed embolic therapy(ADET) with polyethylene glycol embolics loaded with irinotecan for the treatment of colorectal cancer liver metastases(CRC-LM). Secondary objectives were to monitor quality of life, time to progression and survival of patients.METHODS Patients were included in the study if they were affected by CRC-LM, refractory to systemic chemotherapy, treated with ADET using polyethylene glycol embolics, and had liver involvement < 50%. Tumor response, performance status(PS), tumor marker antigens, and quality of life(QoL) were monitored at 1, 3 and 6 mo after ADET. QoL was assessed with the Palliative Performance Scale(PPS).RESULTS We treated 50 consecutive CRC-LM patients with ADET using polyethylene glycol embolics. Their tumor response one month after ADET was: 28% of complete response(CR), 48% of partial response(PR), 8% stable disease(SD), and 16% of progression. Tumor response 3 mo after ADET was CR 24%, PR 38%, SD 19% and progression disease(PD) 19%. Tumor response 6 mo after ADET was CR 18%, PR 44%, SD 21% and PD 18%. QoL was 90% PPS at each time point. Median time to progression for patients who progressed was 2.5 mo(range 0.8-6). Median follow-up was 14 mo(0.8-25 range). ADETs were performed with no complications. Observed side effects(mild or moderate intensity) were: Pain in 32% of patients, increase of transaminase levels in 20% and fever in 14%, whereas 30% of patients did not complain any adverse event. CONCLUSION The treatment of unresectable CRC-LM with ADET using polyethylene glycol microspheres loaded with irinotecan was effective in tumor response and resulted in mild toxicity, and good QoL.

Circular Formation Flight Control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles With Directed Network and External Disturbance

This paper proposes a new distributed formation flight protocol for unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)to perform coordinated circular tracking around a set of circles on a target sphere.Different from the previous results limited in bidirectional networks and disturbance-free motions,this paper handles the circular formation flight control problem with both directed network and spatiotemporal disturbance with the knowledge of its upper bound.Distinguishing from the design of a common Lyapunov fiunction for bidirectional cases,we separately design the control for the circular tracking subsystem and the formation keeping subsystem with the circular tracking error as input.Then the whole control system is regarded as a cascade connection of these two subsystems,which is proved to be stable by input-tostate stability(ISS)theory.For the purpose of encountering the external disturbance,the backstepping technology is introduced to design the control inputs of each UAV pointing to North and Down along the special sphere(say,the circular tracking control algorithm)with the help of the switching function.Meanwhile,the distributed linear consensus protocol integrated with anther switching anti-interference item is developed to construct the control input of each UAV pointing to east along the special sphere(say,the formation keeping control law)for formation keeping.The validity of the proposed control law is proved both in the rigorous theory and through numerical simulations.

Enhancing the Activity of Glutamate Decarboxylase from Lactobacillus brevis by Directed Evolution

Glutamate decarboxylase(GAD, EC4.1.1.15) can catalyze the decarboxylation of L-glutamate to form γ-aminobutyrate(GABA), which is in great demand in some foods and pharmaceuticals. In our previous study,gad, the gene coding glutamate decarboxylase from Lactobacillus brevis CGMCC 1306, was cloned and its soluble expression was realized. In this study, error-prone PCR was conducted to improve its activity, followed by a screening. Mutant Q51 H with high activity [55.4 mmol·L-1·min-1·(mg protein)-1, 120% higher than that of the wild type at p H 4.8] was screened out from the mutant library. In order to investigate the potential role of this site in the regulation of enzymatic activity, site-directed saturation mutagenesis at site 51 was carried out,and three specific mutants, N-terminal truncated GAD, Q51 P, and Q51 L, were identified. The kinetic parameters of the three mutants and Q51 H were characterized. The results reveal that aspartic acid at site 88 and N-terminal domain are essential to the activity as well as correct folding of GAD. This study not only improves the activity of GAD, but also sheds new light on the structure–function relationship of GAD.

Site-directed mutagenesis identified the key active site residues of alcohol acyltransferase PpAAT1 responsible for aroma biosynthesis in peach fruits

The aroma of peach fruit is predominantly determined by the accumulation of γ-decalactone and ester compounds.A previous study showed that the biosynthesis of these aroma compounds in peach fruit is catalyzed by PpAAT1,an alcohol acyltransferase.In this work,we investigated the key active site residues responsible for γ-decalactone and ester biosynthesis.A total of 14 candidate amino acid residues possibly involved in internal esterification and 9 candidate amino acid residues possibly involved in esterification of PpAAT1 were assessed via site-directed mutagenesis.Analyses of the in vitro enzyme activities of PpAAT1 and its site-directed mutant proteins(PpAAT1-SMs)with different amino acid residue mutations as well as the contents of γ-decalactone in transgenic tobacco leaves and peach fruits transiently expressing PpAAT1 and PpAAT1-SMs revealed that site-directed mutation of H165 in the conserved HxxxD motif led to lost enzymatic activity of PpAAT1 in both internal esterification and its reactions,whereas mutation of the key amino acid residue D376 led to the total loss ofγ-decalactone biosynthesis activity of PpAAT1.Mutations of 9 and 7 other amino acid residues also dramatically affected the enzymatic activity of PpAAT1 in the internal esterification and esterification reactions,respectively.Our findings provide a biochemical foundation for the mechanical biosynthesis ofγ-decalactone and ester compounds catalyzed by PpAAT1 in peach fruits,which could be used to guide the molecular breeding of new peach species with more favorable aromas for consumers.

Consensus Control of Leader-Following Multi-Agent Systems in Directed Topology With Heterogeneous Disturbances

This paper investigates the consensus problem for linear multi-agent systems with the heterogeneous disturbances generated by the Brown motion.Its main contribution is that a control scheme is designed to achieve the dynamic consensus for the multi-agent systems in directed topology interfered by stochastic noise.In traditional ways,the coupling weights depending on the communication structure are static.A new distributed controller is designed based on Riccati inequalities,while updating the coupling weights associated with the gain matrix by state errors between adjacent agents.By introducing time-varying coupling weights into this novel control law,the state errors between leader and followers asymptotically converge to the minimum value utilizing the local interaction.Through the Lyapunov directed method and It?formula,the stability of the closed-loop system with the proposed control law is analyzed.Two simulation results conducted by the new and traditional schemes are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantage of the developed control method.

Leaf area index estimated by direct, semi-direct, and indirect methods in European beech and sycamore maple stands

Leaf area index(LAI)is one of the most important characteristics of forest stands that affects the fundamentals of tree physiological processes,biomass production,and mechanical stability.The LAI results obtained by the semi-direct and indirect methods(the needle technique and an LAI-2000 PCA)in three European beech(Fagus sylvatica L.)stands and one sycamore maple(Acer pseudoplatanus L.)stand were compared with LAI estimated by litter traps during the 2013 growing season.Seasonal LAI was estimated using an LAI-2000 PCA which showed similar trends among the stands and strongly corresponded to phenological phases of deciduous stands in Europe,with the fastest rate of leaf area increment occurring during the first month following bud break.During the growing season,maximum stand LAI value was on June 19th and reached 4.5–5.1,and 4.0 in the beech and maple stands,respectively.The needle technique significantly underestimated(p<0.05)direct LAI on average by 22.0% and 40.0% in the beech and maple stands,respectively.The LAI-2000 PCA insignificantly underestimated(p>05)LAI on average by 15.1%and 5.8%in the beech and maple stands,respectively.All methods for LAI estimation at the stand level could be applicable in deciduous forest stands(beech,maple)with similar site and stand characteristics.However,calibration by direct method is necessary to obtain the required precision.

Reliability Evaluation of Two-Stage Directed Semi-Markov Repairable Network Systems

A two-stage directed Semi-Markov repairable network system is presented in this paper to model the performance of many transmission systems, such as power or oil transmission network, water or gas supply network, etc. The availability of the system is discussed by using Markov renewal theory, Laplace transform and probability analysis methods. A numerical example is given to illustrate the results obtained in the paper.