Intoxication Induced by Urea Containing Diets in Broiler Chickens: Effect on Weight Gain, Feed Conversion Ratio, Hematological and Biochemical Profiles

Urea as a source of cheap non-protein nitrogen is used to adulterate fish and meat meals which are basic components of broiler diets. The present study was carried out to elucidate the effects of urea on weight gain, and hematological and biochemical profiles. A total of 48 broiler chicks were randomly allotted into 4 groups, designated Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 of 12 birds each. Birds in Groups 2, 3 and 4 were fed on diets containing urea at the levels of 1%, 2.5% and 4%, respectively. Birds in Group 1 served as control and were not exposed to urea. Experimentation period was for 3 weeks and experiment was terminated when birds were 42 days of age. Body weight of all intoxicated birds at the various intervals was significantly decreased in comparison with that of the untreated control. Compared with control, all intoxicated broilers manifested significant (P ≤ 0.05) decrease in all hematological parameters involving erythrocytic and total leucocytic counts, Hemoglobin (Hb) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) on a dose- and time-pattern. In comparison with the control levels, biochemical profile of the intoxicated birds disclosed significant decrease in blood glucose level and significant increase in serum uric acid, urea, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Based upon the present data, it was concluded that the addition of urea to broiler diets bears serious sequences concerning the general health condition, performance, weight gain, and hematological and biochemical profiles.

Model-based evaluation on the conversion ratio of ammonium to nitrite in a nitritation process for ammonium-rich wastewater treatment

Modeling for nitritation process was discussed and analyzed quantitatively for the factors that influence nitrite accumulation. The results indicated that pH, inorganic carbon source and Hydraulic Retention Time(HRT) as well as biomass concentration are the main factors that influenced the conversion ratio of ammonium to nitrite. A constant high pH can lead to a high nitritation rate and results in high conversion ratio on condition that free ammonia inhibition do not happen. In a CSTR system, without pH control, this conversion ratio can be monitored by pH variation in the reactor. The pH goes down far from the inlet level means a strongly nitrite accumulation. High concentration of alkalinity can promoted the conversion ratio by means of accelerating the nitritation rate through providing sufficient inorganic carbon source(carbon dioxide). When inorganic carbon source was depleted, the nitritation process stopped. HRT adjustment could be an efficient way to make the nitritation system run more flexible, which to some extent can meet the requirements of the fluctuant of inlet parameters such as ammonium concentration, pH, and temperature and so on. Biomass concentration is the key point, especially for a CSTR system in steady state, which was normally circumscribed by the characteristics of bacteria and may also affected by aeration mode and can be increased by prolonging the HRT on the condition of no nitrate accumulation when no recirculation available. The higher the biomass concentration is, the better the nitrite accumulation can be obtained.

The Effect of Quantitative Feed Restriction Duration on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chickens

The growth productivity of broilers is influenced by improving growth performance through improving body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of quantitative feed restriction duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. A total of 144 day-old broiler chicks were reared in a deep litter system until slaughter at 42 days. Chicks were randomly allocated to three treatments which were replicated three times with 16 birds per replicate. The three treatments were the control (T1), one week of feed restriction (T2), and two weeks of feed restriction (T3). Birds were fed with starter, grower and finisher diets. The average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were computed for each week. Carcass weight and internal organs weights were measured. The body weight gained by the birds in T1 was similar to the birds that were restricted for a week. The treatments had a significant effect on the average daily gain in weeks 4, 5, and 6. The ADG for T2 was higher (P < 0.05) at week 5 after 1 week of restriction, than T1 and T3. The feed conversion ratio was significantly higher in T3 after 2 weeks of restriction. In T2 and T3, feed intake was significantly lower than in birds fed ad libitum at week 4 at the start of the treatment. There was no significant effect on the relative weights of heart weights, liver, gizzard, feet, and heads among the treatment groups except for intestine weight which was lower (P < 0.05) in T1 than T2 and T3. It was concluded that broilers that were restricted for one week had a positive result in growth performance. Feed restriction had minimal effect on the organ weights of broiler chickens.

Elaborations of the influencing factors on the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols in a heavily polluted urban area of China

In this study,online water-soluble inorganic ions were detected to deduce the formation mechanism of secondary inorganic aerosol in Xianyang,China during wintertime.The dominant inorganic ions of sulfate(SO_(4)^(2-)),nitrate(NO_(3)^(-)),and ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))(the sum of those is abbreviated as SNA)accounted for 17%,21%,and 12% of PM_(2.5)mass,respectively.While the air quality deteriorated from excellent to poor grades,the precursor gas sulfur dioxide(SO_(2))of SO_(4)^(2-)increased and then decreased with a fluctuation,while nitrogen dioxide(NO_(2))and ammonia(NH_(3)),precursors of NO_(3)^(-)and NH_(4)^(+),and SNA show increasing trends.Meteorological factors including boundary layer height(BLH),temperature,and wind speed also show decline trends,except relative humidity(RH).Meanwhile,the secondary conversion ratio shows a remarkable increasing trend,indicating that there was a strong secondary transformation.From the perspective of chemical mechanisms,RH is positively correlated with sulfur oxidation ratios(SOR),nitrogen oxidation ratios(NOR),and ammonia conversion ratios,representing that the increase of humidity could promote the generation of SNA.Notably,SOR and NOR were also positively related to the ammonia.On the one hand,the low wind speed and BLH led to the accumulation of pollutants.On the other hand,the increases of RH and ammonia promoted more formations of SNA and PM_(2.5).The results advance our identification of the contributors to the haze episodes and assist to establish more efficient emission controls in Xianyang,in addition to other cities with similar emission and geographical characteristics.

CO removal by two-stage methanation for polymer electrolyte fuel cell

In order to remove CO to achieve lower CO content of below 10 ppm in the CO removal step of reformer for polymer electrolyte fuel cell （PEFC） co-generation systems, CO preferential methanation under various conditions were studied in this paper. Results showed that, with a single kind of catalyst, it was difficult to reach both CO removal depth and CO2 conversion ratio of below 5%. Thus, a two-stage methanation process applying two kinds of catalysts is proposed in this study, that is, one kind of catalyst with relatively low activity and high selectivity for the first stage at higher temperature, and another kind of catalyst with relatively high activity and high selectivity for the second stage at lower temperature. Experimental results showed that at the first stage CO content was decreased from 1% to below 0.1% at 250-300 ℃, and at the second stage to below 10 ppm at 150-185 ℃. CO2 conversion was kept less than 5%, At the same time, influence of inlet CO content and GHSV on CO removal depth was also discussed in this paper.

Linkage between the intestinal microbiota and residual feed intake in broiler chickens

Background:Intestinal microbiota plays a key role in nutrient digestion and utilization with a profound impact on feed efficiency of livestock animals.However,the intestinal microbes that are critically involved in feed efficiency remain elusive.Methods:To identify intestinal bacteria associated with residual feed intake(RFI)in chickens,male Cobb broiler chicks were individually housed from day 14 to day 35.Individual RFI values were calculated for 56 chickens.Luminal contents were collected from the ileum,cecum,and cloaca of each animal on day 35.Bacterial DNA was isolated and subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Intestinal microbiota was classified to the feature level using Deblur and QIIME 2.High and low RFI groups were formed by selecting 15 and 17 chickens with the most extreme RFI values for subsequent LEfSe comparison of the difference in the microbiota.Spearman correlation analysis was further performed to identify correlations between the intestinal microbiota composition and RFI.Results:No significant difference in evenness,richness,and overall diversity of the microbiota in the ileum,cecum,or cloaca was observed between high and low RFI chickens.However,LEfSe analysis revealed a number of bacterial features being differentially enriched in either high or low RFI chickens.Spearman correlation analysis further identified many differentially enriched bacterial features to be significantly correlated with RFI(P<0.05).Importantly,not all short-chain fatty acid(SCFA)producers showed a positive association with RFI.While two novel members of Oscillibacter and Butyricicoccus were more abundant in low-RFI,high-efficiency chickens,several other SCFA producers such as Subdoligranulum variabile and two related Peptostreptococcaceae members were negatively associated with feed efficiency.Moreover,a few closely-related Lachnospiraceae family members showed a positive correlation with feed efficiency,while others of the same family displayed an opposite relationship.Conclusions:Our results highlight the complexity of the intestinal microbiota and a need to differentiate the bacteria to the species,subspecies,and even strain levels in order to reveal their true association with feed efficiency.Identification of RFI-associated bacteria provides important leads to manipulate the intestinal microbiota for improving production efficiency,profitability,and sustainability of poultry production.

Energetics of Geostrophic Adjustment in Rotating Flow

Energetics of geostrophic adjustment in rotating flow is examined in detail with a linear shallow water model. The initial unbalanced flow considered first falls tinder two classes. The first is similar to that adopted by Gill and is here referred to as a mass imbalance model, for the flow is initially motionless but with a sea surface displacement. The other is the same as that considered by Rossby and is referred to as a momentum imbalance model since there is only a velocity perturbation in the initial field. The significant feature of the energetics of geostrophic adjustment for the above two extreme models is that although the energy conversion ratio has a large case-to-case variability for different initial conditions, its value is bounded below by 0 and above by 1 / 2. Based on the discussion of the above extreme models, the energetics of adjustment for an arbitrary initial condition is investigated. It is found that the characteristics of the energetics of geostrophic adjustment mentioned above are also applicable to adjustment of the general unbalanced flow under the condition that the energy conversion ratio is redefined as the conversion ratio between the change of kinetic energy and potential energy of the deviational fields.

The Growth of Latex Particles during the VAc/BA Copolymerization

The semi-continuous seeded emulsion eopolymerization of vinyl acetate and butyl acrylate was carried out with hydroxyethyl cellulose as a colloid stabilizer. The morphology of the latex particle and the relationship between the reaction time and the average particle diameter and/or the conversion ratio during the polymerization were invstiguted. The experimental results shaw that the morphology of the latex particle possesses the stable sterie construction. In the seeded polymerizution, the average particle diameter of latex decreased while the conversion ratio increased. At the second term of the emulsion copolymerization （the growth stage of particle size）, the latex particle average diameter increased with copolymerization continuously, but the instantaneous conversation ratio was not large, so it was very necessaO to properly prolong the time during the holding temperature stage.

Analysis of York Pigs Feeding Behavior Using Stepwise Regression and Principal Component Regression

A statistical analysis was conducted on the feeding behavior of 106 York breeding pigs.Pearson correlation analysis,principal component correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression equation methods were applied to establish regression equations of the York breeding pigs total feed intake per time and average feed intake per time with corrected fat thickness,feed conversion rate,and corrected daily gain.The results showed that:①there were three peak feed intake periods for the pigs,and the correlation coefficient between the feed intake and the corrected fat thickness of the pigs in the 24 h period was positive or negative,that is,increasing the number of feeding times and the feed intake was not necessarily conducive to the fat thickness accumulation,but the breeding goal of fat thickness could be achieved by controlling the feeding times and feed intake;②the average feed intake of pigs in the 60-90 kg body weight stage was 30%-50%higher than that of the 30-60 kg body weight stage,but the number of feeding times decreased,the peak feeding time was more concentrated,and the feeding duration per time was 3.0 min longer,indicating that as the weight of pigs increased,the feed intake increased significantly;and③the stepwise regression equations and the principal component equations showed that the feeding behavior of York pigs in the 30-90 kg growth stage was not only affected by the feeding time within 24 h,but also by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.The feeding behavior of York pigs is a complex process of interaction between environmental factors and animal factors.

Feeding Effect of Growing-Finishing Pigs under Fine Division of Feeding Stages

In order to study the feeding effect of fine division of feeding stages on the growing-finishing pigs,96 healthy Duroc × Landrace ×Yorkshire hybrid commercial pigs with similar age in days,size,and body weight about 15 kg,half boars and half sows,randomly divided into3 treatments( each treatment repeated 4 times,and each repetition 8 pigs). According to the body weight division standard,three stages,four stages,and five stages of feeding were adopted separately. The daily ration of with different nutrition levels was used,body weight and feed consumption were measured,and effects of different feeding methods on body weight increase,feed utilization,and economic benefits of growing-finishing pigs. The results showed that compared with the three-stage feeding,the body weight of five-stage and four-stage feeding increased by 4. 18%( P < 0. 01) and 2. 41%( P < 0. 05),respectively,and the body weight of five-stage feeding increased by 1. 74%( P < 0. 05) compared with that of four-stage feeding; the daily feed consumption of five-stage and four-stage feeding increased 3. 10%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 70%(P <0. 01),respectively,and the daily feed consumption of five-stage feeding was 1. 37% higher than that of four-stage feeding. The feed cost of five-stage feeding and four-stage feeding increased 3. 32%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 61%( P < 0. 05) separately,and the feed cost of five-stage feeding was 1. 69% higher than that of four-stage feeding( P < 0. 01). The income from average body weight increase of five-stage and fourstage feeding increased by 5. 47%( P < 0. 01) and 3. 59%( P < 0. 01) respectively,and the benefit of average body weight increase of fivestage feeding was 1. 81% higher than that of four-stage feeding( P > 0. 05). The crude protein consumption from average body weight increase of five-stage and four-stage feeding decreased by 2. 28%( P < 0. 01) and 1. 68%( P < 0. 01),respectively; the crude protein consumption from average body weight increase of five-stage feeding was 0. 67% lower than that of four-stage feeding; the feed conversion ratio of five-stage feeding,four-stage feeding,and three-stage feeding was 2. 92,2. 93,and 2. 95 respectively. The results showed that compared with the threestage feeding,the four-stage and five-stage feeding could significantly increase the body weight of the growing-finishing pigs,improve the feed utilization level and improve the economic benefits,and the effect of five-stage feeding was better than the four-stage feeding.

Research on the Index System of Ecological Balanced Fertilization for Three Crops

This paper studied the index system of ecological balanced fertilization for three crops by data mining method based on data of"3414 fertilizer field trials"of rice,wheat and maize by published papers from national soil testing and recommendation since 2005.A systematic analysis of the materials and methods,the main research contents,the main research results and the main research conclusions of the column was made,in order to enable readers to understand and grasp the overall contents of the following 15 papers.

Performance of Broilers Supplemented with Natural Herb Extract

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of a natural herb extract on the general performance, carcass parameters and mortality of broiler chicks. A total of 720 one-day old chicks (Cobb 500) were used in the experiment and randomly partitioned into nine pens (80 chicks per pen). Three experimental diets (C: regular starter feed;CC plus: regular starter feed supplemented with chicken plus herbal extract;AFC plus: antibiotic-free diet supplemented with chicken plus) were assigned each to three randomly selected pens. The herbal extract was supplemented in drinking water at rate of 300 ml/cubic meter. Results showed that weights, feed conversion ratios (FCR) and dressing percentages (DP) increased (P < 0.05) in birds supplemented with herb extract compared to control birds. Mortalities and sudden deaths were minimized via herbal supplementation. However, herbal supplementation had no significant effects on carcass cuts and some visceral organs. The relative economic efficiency (REE) was up to 13% improved by the herb supplementation. It can be concluded that feeding the herbal extract has significant positive effects on broilers general performance as feed efficiency is increased by 11% and on mortality and sudden death cases.

Development of monitoring and assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage in China

Addressing climate change has become a common issue around the world in the 21st century and equally an important mission in Chinese forestry.Understanding the development of monitoring and assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage in China is important for promoting the evaluation of forest carbon sequestration capacity of China.The author conducts a systematic analysis of domestic publications addressing＂monitoring and assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage＂in order to understand the development trends,describes the brief history through three stages,and gives the situation of new development.Towards the end of the 20th century,a large number of papers on biomass and productivity of the major forest types in China had been published,covering the exploration and efforts of more than 20 years,while investigations into assessment of forest carbon storage had barely begun.Based on the data of the 7th and 8th National Forest Inventories,forest biomass and carbon storage of the entire country were assessed using individual tree biomass models and carbon conversion factors of major tree species,both previously published and newly developed.Accompanying the implementation of the 8th National Forest Inventory,a program of individual tree biomass modeling for major tree species in China was carried out simultaneously.By means of thematic research on classification of modeling populations,as well as procedures for collecting samples and methodology for biomass modeling,two technical regulations on sample collection and model construction were published as ministerial standards for application.Requests for approval of individual tree biomass models and carbon accounting parameters of major tree species have been issued for approval as ministerial standards.With the improvement of biomass models and carbon accounting parameters,thematic assessment of forest biomass and carbon storage will be gradually changed into a general monitoring of forest biomass and carbon storage,in order to realize their dynamic monitoring in national forest inventories.Strengthening the analysis and assessment of spatial distribution patterns of forest biomass and carbon storage through application of remote sensing techniques and geostatistical approaches will also be one of the major directions of development in the near future.

Effects of different levels of urea supplementation on nutrient intake and growth performance in growing camels fed roughage based complete pellet diets

The utilization of urea in camels has beneficial and negative effects. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of different levels of urea supplementation on nutrients intake, digestibility,growth performance, feed efficiency and economics in growing camels fed roughage based complete pellet diets. In the present study, eighteen growing camels with an average live body weight of306.17 ± 2.05 kg were randomly assigned in three treatments: T1 = roughage complete pellet diet without urea,T2 = T1 plus 1% urea,and T3 = T1 plus 2% urea. The results showed that the urea supplementation significantly affected average daily feed and nutrient intake of dry matter(DM), organic matter(OM), crude protein(CP), neutral detergent fiber(NDF), and acid detergent fiber(ADF)(P < 0.05).On the contrary, the average daily intake of nitrogen free extract(NFE) and water were not influenced by increasing urea supplementation(P > 0.05). Similarly, digestion coefficient of DM, CP, ether extract(EE),crude fiber(CF) and ADF was influenced by increasing urea level(P < 0.05), while the digestion coefficient of OM, NFE and NDF was not affected by increasing urea level(P > 0.05). The intake of digestive nutrients was similar among all treatment groups. Total body live weight gain and average daily gain were significantly higher in urea supplemented groups(P < 0.05) than in the control group. The supplementation of urea at 1% in low quality roughage complete pellet diets significantly improved(P < 0.05) the feed efficiency. In conclusion,these results indicated that the incorporation of urea at 1% in roughage based complete pellet diets could positively improve nutrients intake, digestibility, growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of growing camels.

Growth performance of nursery and grower-finisher pigs fed diets supplemented with benzoic acid

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the efficacy of benzoic acid on the growth performance of nursery and grower-finisher pigs. A randomized complete block design was used in both experiments with the initial body weight as the blocking factor. There were 3 treatments corresponding to 3 dietary levels of benzoic acid: 0, 0.3%, and 0.5%. In experiment 1, a total of 144 PIC L1050 barrows(initial body weight 7.1 ± 0.6 kg) were used with each treatment replicated 8 times. In experiment 2, a total of 288 PIC L1050 barrows(initial body weight 36.1 ± 3.6 kg) were used with each treatment replicated 16 times.There were 6 barrows in each replicate pen for both experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 lasted 28 and 70 days, respectively. In experiment 1, average daily gain(ADG) of all growth phases increased linearly(P < 0.05) with increasing supplementation of benzoic acid, which led to a linear improvement in average body weight on d 28(P < 0.05). There was also an improvement in feed conversion ratio(FCR) of d 0 to 14(linear effect: P < 0.05) and in average daily feed intake(ADFI) of d 14 to 28 and d 0 to 28(linear effect:P < 0.01). In experiment 2, ADG during d 0 to 35 and d 35 to 70 and average body weight on d 35 improved linearly(P < 0.05) with increasing supplementation of benzoic acid. Average daily gain of d 0 to70 and average body weight on d 70 increased significantly in a both linear and quadratic manner. There was a linear improvement in FCR in all growth phases(P < 0.05). In conclusion, the dietary inclusion of benzoic acid at the supplementation levels of 0.3% and 0.5% significantly improved the growth performance of nursery and grower-finisher pigs in the current study; the nursery pigs responded to the dietary supplementation of benzoic acid up to 0.5% linearly while the grower-finisher pigs achieved the optimal ADG at the calculated supplementation level of 0.36%.

Hydrodynamic analyses of typical underwater gliders

The underwater glider changes its weight and the weight distribution through the battery use, to move up and down and forward in the sea. It enjoys many advantages such as a long endurance, and a long operational range with its unique device. The performance of the underwater glider can not evaluated only by the drag, the energy consumption is also one of the key factors. In this paper, the power conversion ratio is proposed according to the transfer efficiency from the gravitational potential energy to the available work, and the performances of three typical underwater gliders are evaluated from multi-angles, such as the drag, the power conversion ratio and the barycenter＇s offset. So the glide performance and the energy consumption in various motion states can be analyzed. The results of this paper can provide a theoretical basis for further study of underwater gliders.

Efficacy and safety of darbepoetin alfa injection replacing epoetin alfa injection for the treatment of renal anemia in Chinese hemodialysis patients:A randomized,open-label,parallel-group,noninferiority phase III trial

Background:This study was to explore the clinical efficacy and safety of darbepoetin alfa injection replacing epoetin alfa injection(recombinant human erythropoietin injection,rHuEPO)for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney failure in Chinese patients undergoing hemodialysis.Method:This study was a multicenter,randomized,open-label,intergroup parallel control phase III noninferiority trial from April 19,2013 to September 9,2014 at 25 sites.In this study,the members of the darbepoetin alfa group underwent intravenous administration once per week or once every two weeks.The members of the control drug epoetin alfa group underwent intravenous administration two or three times per week.All subjects underwent epoetin alfa administration during the 8-week baseline period.After that,subjects were randomly assigned to the darbepoetin alfa group or epoetin alfa group.The noninferiority in the changes of the average Hb concentrations from the baseline to the end of the evaluation period(noninferiority threshold:-1.0 g/dl)was tested between the two treatments.The time-dependent hemoglobin(Hb)concentration and the maintenance rate of the target Hb concentration(the proportion of subjects with Hb concentrations between 10.0 and 12.0 g/dl)were also evaluated.Iron metabolism,including changes in the serum iron,total iron-binding capacity,ferritin,transferrin saturation,and comparisons of the dose adjustments between the two groups during the treatment period were analyzed further.Adverse events(AEs)were also observed and compared,and the safety was analyzed between the two treatment groups.The conversion rate switching from epoetin alfa to darbepoetin alfa was also discussed.SAS?software version 9.2 was used to perform all statistical analyses.Descriptive statistics were used for all efficacy,safety,and demographic variable analyses,including for the primary efficacy indicators.Results:Four hundred and sixty-six patients were enrolled in this study,and ultimately 384 cases were analyzed for safety,including 267 cases in the darbepoetin alfa group and 117 cases in the epoetin alfa group.There were 211 cases in the per-protocol set,including 152 cases in the darbepoetin alfa group and 59 cases in the epoetin alfa group.The changes in the average Hb concentrations from the baseline to the end of the evaluation period were-0.07 and-0.15 g/dl in the darbepoetin alfa group and epoetin alfa group respectively.The difference between the two groups was 0.08 g/dl(95%confidence interval[CI]:-0.22 to 0.39),and the lower limit of the 95%CI was-0.22>-1.0 g/dl.The average Hb concentrations of the two groups were 10.88-11.43 g/dl(darbepoetin alfa)and 10.91-11.38 g/dl(epoetin alfa)during the study period of Weeks 0-28,with the maintenance rates of the target Hb concentration ranging within 71%-87%and 78%-95%in the darbepoetin alfa group and epoetin alfa group respectively.During the period of comparison between the two groups,the incidence of AEs in the darbepoetin alfa group was 61.42%,while in the epoetin alfa group it was 56.41%.All of the adverse events and reactions in the study were those commonly associated with hemodialysis.Conclusion:The overall efficacy and safety of darbepoetin alfa for the treatment of Chinese renal anemia patients undergoing hemodialysis are consistent with those of epoetin alfa.

Non-isolated stacked bidirectional soft-switching DC-DC converter with PWM plus phase-shift control scheme

In this paper, a non-isolated stacked bidirectional DC-DC converter with zero-voltage-switching(ZVS) is introduced for the high step-up/step-down conversion systems. The extremely narrow turn-on and/or turn-off duty cycle existing in the conventional bidirectional buck-boost converters can be extended due to the stacked module configuration for large voltage conversion ratio applications. Furthermore, the switch voltage stress is halved because of the series connection of half bridge modules. The PWM plus phase-shift control strategy is employed, where the duty cycle is adopted to regulate the voltages between the input and output sides and the phaseshift angle is applied to achieve the power flow regulation.This decoupled control scheme can not only realize seamless bidirectional transition operation, but also achieve adaptive voltage balance for the power switches. In addition, ZVS soft-switching operation for all active switches is realized to minimize the switching losses. Finally, a prototype of 1 kW operating at 100 kHz is built and tested to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed converter and the control strategy.

Topographic Effect on the Energetics of Geostrophic Adjustment

In this work, the impact of topography on the geostrophic adjustment processis discussed with a simple two-layer shallow water model, in which the lower-layer fluid isinitially stationary while the upper-layer is perturbed by the impulsive injection of momentum.During the geostrophic adjustment process of this ideal model, the initial kinetic energy isreleased and a fraction of it is converted into potential energy of the final geostrophicallyadjusted state. Thus, after the geostrophic adjustment, the kinetic energy of the system is reducedwhile the potential energy is enhanced. As the topographic effect is considered, it is found thatthe decrease of the kinetic energy (ΔKE) and the increase of the potential energy (ΔPE) of thesystem are weakened as compared to the case that the lower boundary is flat. Furthermore, thetopographic effect on APE is less pronounced than that on ΔKE, which implicates that the topographytends to inhibit the energy dispersion of the inertio-gravity wave. The numerical simulation of thegeostrophic adjustment process shows that, due to the impact of topography, the convergence anddivergence in the low layer are reduced and the undulation of the interface between the lower-layerand upper-layer is weakened. This means that the amplitude of the inertio-gravity wave is decreased,and thus, the energy radiated by the inertio-gravity wave is lessened.