Study on a Bowl-based Mechanism for Transplanting Potted Strawberry Seedlings

To improve the efficiency of fetching and transplanting seedlings for the mechanization of strawberry planting,an integrated transplanting mechanism was designed with protruding,fetching and planting performance to achieve rapid fetching and pushing bowl movements.According to the working principle of the slewing mechanism,a kinematics model and the optimization goal were established,respectively.Based on visual auxiliary analysis software,optimal parameters were obtained.A three-dimensional model was established to obtain a simulation trajectory by means of a virtual simulation design analysis.Three-dimensional printing technology was used to manufacture the test prototype,and the actual working trajectories of the test prototype were extracted using high-speed photography technology,which verified the consistency of the actual trajectory with the theoretical and simulated trajectories.A prototype transplanting experiment was performed with the success rate of seedling extraction of 91.2%and excellent planting rate of 82.8%,which met the requirements for integrated strawberry harvesting,planting and transplanting.The experimental results verified the correctness and feasibility of the design of integrated transplanting mechanism.

Mechanism for Integrating Sustainability in Engineering Design

This paper proposes an integration mechanism to help the owners and designers to integrate sustainability issues into design process, communicate with stakeholders and achieve consensus. Literature concerning engineering design, decision making and environment assessment were reviewed. Sustainability disputes in construction projects were analyzed and owners and designers were interviewed to understand the evolvement of these issues. Key success factors of other successful integration projects were also referenced. An integration mechanism including procedures was established along with traditional design process. Four integration steps were developed： organize integration team, propose integration issues, determine acceptance criteria, and evaluate alternatives; and four integration dimensions were also identified： appeals, decision making and execution, stakeholders, and experts. A matrix was formed by the four integration steps and four dimensions. A rigor index was proposed to measure the quality of the integration process. Finally, the mechanism was tested on a construction project with sustainability controversy to check its validity. The study results show that the integration mechanism can help incorporate sustainability issues and achieve consensus if followed rigorously. The integration matrix systematically examines the eight key integration factors under the four dimensions. The rigor index can explain the quality in integrating sustainability issues into engineering design. The mechanism provides a useful tool for the owners and designers to cope with the sustainability decision making difficulties.

Key issues and progress of industrial big data-based intelligent blast furnace ironmaking technology

Blast furnace (BF) ironmaking is the most typical “black box” process, and its complexity and uncertainty bring forth great challenges for furnace condition judgment and BF operation. Rich data resources for BF ironmaking are available, and the rapid development of data science and intelligent technology will provide an effective means to solve the uncertainty problem in the BF ironmaking process. This work focused on the application of artificial intelligence technology in BF ironmaking. The current intelligent BF ironmaking technology was summarized and analyzed from five aspects. These aspects include BF data management, the analyses of time delay and correlation, the prediction of BF key variables, the evaluation of BF status, and the multi-objective intelligent optimization of BF operations. Solutions and suggestions were offered for the problems in the current progress, and some outlooks for future prospects and technological breakthroughs were added. To effectively improve the BF data quality, we comprehensively considered the data problems and the characteristics of algorithms and selected the data processing method scientifically. For analyzing important BF characteristics, the effect of the delay was eliminated to ensure an accurate logical relationship between the BF parameters and economic indicators. As for BF parameter prediction and BF status evaluation,a BF intelligence model that integrates data information and process mechanism was built to effectively achieve the accurate prediction of BF key indexes and the scientific evaluation of BF status. During the optimization of BF parameters, low risk, low cost, and high return were used as the optimization criteria, and while pursuing the optimization effect, the feasibility and site operation cost were considered comprehensively.This work will help increase the process operator’s overall awareness and understanding of intelligent BF technology. Additionally, combining big data technology with the process will improve the practicality of data models in actual production and promote the application of intelligent technology in BF ironmaking.

Predicting Rate Constants for Nucleophilic Reactions of Amines with Diarylcarbenium Ions Using an ONIOM Method

The rate constants of the nucleophilic reactions between amines and benzhydrylium ions were calculated using first-principles theoretical methods. Solvation models including PCM, CPCM, and COSMORS, as well as different types of atomic radii including UA0, UAKS, UAHF, Bondi, and UFF, and several single-point energy calculation methods （B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, BHANDH, PBEPBE, BMK, M06, MP2, and ONIOM method） were examined. By comparing the correlation between experimental rate constants and the calculated values, the ONIOM（CCSD（T）/6-311＋＋G（2df,2p）：B3LYP/6-311＋＋G（2df,2p））//B3LYP/6- 31G（d）/PCM/UFF） method was found to perform the best. This method was then employed to calculate the rate constants of the reactions between diverse amines and diarylcarbenium ions. The calculated rate constants for 65 reactions of amines with diarylcarbenium ions are in agreement with the experimental values, indicating that it is feasible to predict the rate constant of a reaction between an amine and a diarylcarbenium ion through ab initio calculation.

Corrosion behavior of Mg-Zn-Zr-RE alloys under physiological environment-Impact on mechanical integrity and biocompatibility

Benefits of RE addition on Mg alloys strength and corrosion resistance are widely reported but their effects on biodegradability and biocompatibility are still of concern.This paper investigates the effect of RE additions on biodegradability of Mg-Zn alloys under simulated physiological conditions.In this context,two commercial Mg-Zn-Zr-RE alloys,namely ZE41 and EZ33,with same RE addition but different concentrations are studied in Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution(HBSS)at 37℃and with pH of 7.4.Weight-loss,hydrogen evolution,real-time insitu drop test,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)and potentiodynamic polarization are deployed to study corrosion characteristics.The mechanical integrity of both alloys is assessed by mechanical testing post immersion.Furthermore,in vitro biocompatibility is evaluated by indirect cytotoxicity tests using NIH3T3 cells.Results reveal that although both alloys showed similar microstructure,size and distribution of precipitates played a significant role on its corrosion response.EIS and open circuit potential results show stable film formation on EZ33,while ZE41 showed passive layer formation followed by its deterioration,over the analyzed time period.Using real-time drop test,it was shown in ZE41 alloy that both T-phase and Zr-rich precipitates acted as micro cathodes,resulting in an unstable surface film.In EZ33,Zr-rich regions did not influence corrosion response,resulting in better corrosion resistance that was corroborated by post-immersion surface morphology investigations.The higher degradation observed in ZE41 alloy resulted in higher drop in flexural and tensile strength compared to EZ33 alloy.In addition,cytotoxicity tests on NIH3T3 cells revealed that cell viability of EZ33 increased with increasing incubation time,contrary to ZE41,owing to its lower biodegradation behavior and despite higher concentrations of REs.Present results show that an increase in RE concentration in EZ33,relative to ZE41,had a positive effect on corrosion rate that subsequently controlled alloy mechanical integrity and biocompatibility.

Electromagnetic and Mechanical Stress Analysis of Wind-Driven Synchronous Reluctance Generator

The investigation explores the mechanical stress and electromagnetic performance for a wind-driven synchronous reluctance generator(SRG).The change in the mechanical stress due to the presence of centripetal force,wind speed,and rotor speed are evaluated for different thickness of tangential and radial ribs.Moreover,the variation in the electromagnetic feature such as the q−and d−axes flux,reactance ratio,inductance,torque and torque ripple are discussed for different thickness of tangential and radial ribs.Increasing both tangential and radial ribs thickness has an effect on the electromagnetic performance,but it is observed that effect is significantly more with the variation of tangential rib thickness.Similarly,the mechanical stress analysis for rotor design has been explored in this paper.It is observed that high concentration of peak stress on the rotor ribs,which limits the range of rotor speed.

Osteocyte pericellular and perilacunar matrices as markers of bone-implant mechanical integrity

To develop durable bone healing strategies through improved control of bone repair,it is of critical importance to understand the mechanisms of bone mechanical integrity when in contact with biomaterials and implants.Bone mechanical integrity is defined here as the adaptation of structural properties of remodeled bone in regard to an applied mechanical loading.Accordingly,the authors present why future investigations in bone repair and regeneration should emphasize on the matrix surrounding the osteocytes.Osteocytes are mechanosensitive cells considered as the orchestrators of bone remodeling,which is the biological process involved in bone homeostasis.These bone cells are trapped in an interconnected porous network,the lacunocanalicular network,which is embedded in a bone mineralized extracellular matrix.As a consequence of an applied mechanical loading,the bone deformation results in the deformation of this lacunocanalicular network inducing a shift in interstitial fluid pressure and velocity,thus resulting in osteocyte stimulation.The material environment surrounding each osteocyte,the so called perilacunar and pericellular matrices properties,define its mechanosensitivity.While this mechanical stimulation pathway is well known,the laws used to predict bone remodeling are based on strains developing at a tissue scale,suggesting that these strains are related to the shift in fluid pressure and velocity at the lacunocanalicular scale.While this relationship has been validated through observation in healthy bone,the fluid behavior at the bone-implant interface is more complex.The presence of the implant modifies fluid behavior,so that for the same strain at a tissue scale,the shift in fluid pressure and velocity will be different than in a healthy bone tissue.In that context,new markers for bone mechanical integrity,considering fluid behavior,have to be defined.The viewpoint exposed by the authors indicates that the properties of the pericellular and the perilacunar matrices have to be systematically investigated and used as structural markers of fluid behavior in the course of bone biomaterial development.

Evaluation of corrosion resistance, mechanical integrity loss and biocompatibility of PCL/HA/TiO_(2) hybrid coated biodegradable ZM21 Mg alloy

A novel PCL/HA/TiO_(2)hybrid coating on ZM21 Mg alloy substrate has been investigated for corrosion resistance, biocompatibility and mechanical integrity loss in terms of bending, compressive and tensile strength in physiological media. The prepared hybrid coating was dip coated over ZM21 from HA/TiO_(2)and PCL solutions followed by creating a microporous PCL layer by utilizing Non-solvent Induced Phase Separation(NIPS) technique. The electrochemical measurement and in-vitro degradation study in SBF after 28 days showed that the PCL/HA/TiO_(2) hybrid coating reduced H2 evolution rate, weight loss, and corrosion rate by 64, 116 and 118 times respectively, as compared to uncoated ZM21 samples. The surface studies carried out using SEM-EDX, FTIR and XRD revealed formation of highly stable 3d flower-like HA crystals with Ca/P ratio of 1.60 in the PCL micropores. This dense apatite growth effectively protected the PCL/HA/TiO_(2)hybrid coated samples to maintain the good mechanical integrity even after 28 days of immersion as compared to HA/TiO_(2)composite coated, As-polished(A/P) and As-machined(A/M) samples. The failure analysis of samples under mechanical loading were performed using SEM-BSE-EBSD.The in-vitro cellular viability of L929 fibroblast cells on PCL/HA/TiO_(2)hybrid coating was found 50.47% higher with respect to control group,whereas bacterial viability was supressed by 57.15 and 62.35% against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli bacterial models. The comprehensive assessment indicates PCL/HA/TiO_(2)hybrid coating as a suitable candidate to delay early degradation and mechanical integrity loss of Mg-based alloys for devising biodegradable orthopaedic implant.

Mechanical Integrity and Failure Analysis of Photovoltaic Modules under Simulated Snow Loads Using Pneumatic Airbag Setup

Photovoltaic (PV) modules have emerged as an ideal technology of choice for harvesting vastly available renewable energy resources. However, the efficiency of PV modules remains significantly lower than that of other renewable energy sources such as wind and hydro. One of the critical elements affecting a photovoltaic module’s efficiency is the variety of external climatic conditions under which it is installed. In this work, the effect of simulated snow loads was evaluated on the performance of PV modules with different types of cells and numbers of busbars. According to ASTM-1830 and IEC-1215 standards, a load of 5400 Pa was applied to the surface of PV modules for 3 hours. An indigenously developed pneumatic airbag test setup was used for the uniform application of this load throughout the test, which was validated by load cell and pressure gauge. Electroluminescence (EL) imaging and solar flash tests were performed before and after the application of load to characterize the performance and effect of load on PV modules. Based on these tests, the maximum power output, efficiency, fill factor and series resistance were determined. The results show that polycrystalline modules are the most likely to withstand the snow loads as compared to monocrystalline PV modules. A maximum drop of 32.13% in the power output and a 17.6% increase in series resistance were observed in the modules having more cracks. These findings demonstrated the efficacy of the newly established test setup and the potential of snow loads for reducing the overall performance of PV module.

Research and Review on the Development of Mechanical and Electrical Integration of System Function Principle and Related Technologies

In this paper, we conduct research on the development of mechanical and electrical integration of system function principle and related technologies. Along with the rapid and continuous development of modem science and technology, it ＇ s for the penetration and cross of different subjects great push, the more important is caused by technological revolution in the field of engineering and mechanical engineering field under the rapid development of computer technology and microelectronic technology and penetration to the mechanical and electrical integration, which is formed by the mechanical industry lead to trigger a particularly large changes in the mechanical industry management system and mode of production, product and technical structure, composition and function, thus result in industrial production from the previous mechanical electrification progressively electromechanical integration which lead the trend of the current technology.

An overview of the environmental finance policies in China： retrofitting an integrated mechanism for environmental management

Considering the significant roles of the policies in developing environmental finance, an overview is conducted on the environmental finance policies （EFPs） in China. This paper analyzed the definition, scope, evolution and main instruments of EFPs. The implementation progress of financial activities on each instrument are investigated respectively. Then the experiences learned from and failures discovered in the development of the EFPs are discussed well recommendations for further improvement of the EFPs and their implementation are provided. Our study found that the EFPs have been established in China after a four-phase evolution since the early 1980s. The policies have played a critical role in leading to a rapid development in environmental finance by involving more financial instruments to accomplish the objective-led environmental plans. Driven by the policies, the new green credit （GC）, green security （GS）, and green insurance （GI） instruments have been phased in as supplements to the conventional command and control approaches to improve the environmental governance of financial activities and pollution sources. However, the market mechanism of financial institution is limited due to their defensive and incapable performance on implementation some of EFP instruments. To further strengthen the effectiveness of EFPs in facilitating environmental man- agement, recommendations are made mainly on the aspects including developing more specific policy guidelines, enhancing information sharing and disclosure, providing sufficient economic incentives, establishing environmental liabilities with financial activities, and involving issues related to climate change, and biodiversity and ecosystem service.

Integration mechanisms of transgenes and population fitness of GH transgenic fish

It has been more than 20 years since the first batch of transgenic fish was produced. Five stable germ-line transmitted growth hormone (GH) transgenic fish lines have been generated. This paper reviews the mechanisms of integration and gene targeting of the transgene, as well as the viability, reproduction and transgenic approaches for the reproductive containment of GH-transgenic fish. Further, we propose that it should be necessary to do the following studies, in particularly, of the breeding of transgenic fish: to assess the fitness of transgenic fish in an aqueous environment with a large space and a complex structure; and to develop a controllable on-off strategy of reproduction in transgenic fish.

T-DNA Integration Category and Mechanism in Rice Genome

Abstract: T-DNA integration is a key step in the process of plant transformation, which is proven to be important for analyzing T-DNA integration mechanism. The structures of T-DNA right borders inserted into the rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome and their flanking sequences were analyzed. It was found that the integrated ends of the T-DNA right border occurred mainly on five nucleotides “TGACA” in inverse repeat (IR) sequence of 25 bp, especially on the third base “A”. However, the integrated ends would sometimes lie inward of the IR sequence, which caused the IR sequence to be lost completely. Sometimes the right integrated ends appeared on the vector sequences rightward of the T-DNA right border, which made the T-DNA, carrying vector sequences, integrated into the rice genome. These results seemingly suggest that the IR sequence of the right border plays an important role in the process of T-DNA integration into the rice genome, but is not an essential element. The appearance of vector sequences neighboring the T-DNA right border suggested that before being transferred into the plant cell from Agrobacterium, the entire T-DNA possibly began from the left border in synthesis and then read through at the right border. Several nucleotides in the T-DNA right border homologous with plant DNA and filler DNAs were frequently discovered in the integrated position of T-DNA. Some small regions in the right border could match with the plant sequence, or form better matches, accompanied by the occurrence of filler DNA, through mutual twisting, and then the T-DNA was integrated into plant chromosome through a partially homologous recombination mechanism. The appearance of filler DNA would facilitate T-DNA integration. The fragments flanking the T-DNA right border in transformed rice plants could derive from different parts of the inner T-DNA region; that is, disruption and recombination could occur at arbitrary positions in the entire T-DNA, in which the homologous area was comparatively easier to be disrupted. The structure of flanking sequences of T-DNA integrated in the rice chromosome presented various complexities. These complexities were probably a result of different patterns of recombination in the integrating process. Some types of possible integrating mechanism are detailed.

The misalignment between degradation rate and mechanical integrity of Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy during the degradation evaluation in modified Hanks’solutions

The degradation behavior of biodegradable Mg alloys has become a research hotspot in the fields about biodegradable metallic materials.While the most of the related publications mainly focused on the degradation rate of Mg-based materials,but rare to care about the changes of their mechanical properties during the immersion period,which can significantly affect their service performance.The link between residual strength and Mg degradation is not appreciated enough.In this work,a series media were constructed based on Hanks’solution,the effects of inorganic ions on the degradation rate and mechanical integrity of Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy were investigated.The results indicated that the degradation behavior of Mg alloy was mainly controlled by degradation products and there is no direct correspondence between the degradation rate change and mechanical integrity of Mg alloy.The relevant findings are beneficial for selecting the monitoring index in Mg corrosion tests and evaluating the service reliability of Mg alloys for biomedical applications.

Predicting localised corrosion and mechanical performance of a PEO surface modified rare earth magnesium alloy for implant use through in-silico modelling

In this study,the influence of a plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)surface treatment on a medical-grade WE43-based magnesium alloy is examined through an experimental and computational framework that considers the effects of localised corrosion features and mechanical properties throughout the corrosion process.First,a comprehensive in-vitro immersion study was performed on WE43-based tensile specimens with and without PEO surface modification,which included fully automated spatial reconstruction of the phenomenological features of corrosion through micro-CT scanning,followed by uniaxial tensile testing.Then the experimental data of both unmodified and PEO-modified groups were used to calibrate parameters of a finite element-based surface corrosion model.In-vitro,it was found that the WE43-PEO modified group had a significantly lower corrosion rate and maintained significantly higher mechanical properties than the unmodified.While corrosion rates were~50%lower in the WE43-PEO modified specimens,the local geometric features of corroding surfaces remained similar to the unmodified WE43 group,however evolving after almost the double amount of time.We were also able to quantitatively demonstrate that the PEO surface treatment on magnesium continued to protect samples from corrosion throughout the entire period tested,and not just in the early stages of corrosion.Using the results from the testing framework,the model parameters of the surface-based corrosion model were identified for both groups.This enabled,for the first time,in-silico prediction of the physical features of corrosion and the mechanical performance of both unmodified and PEO modified magnesium specimens.This simulation framework can enable future in-silico design and optimisation of bioabsorbable magnesium devices for load-bearing medical applications.

A review of the mechanical integrity and electrochemical performance of flexible lithium-ion batteries

In the past two decades,various research works have been conducted in the field of flexible electronic devices(FEDs).Researchers have focused their efforts on solving the existing challenges in the electronic,electrochemical,and mechanical behaviors of FEDs.The importance of flexible lithium-ion batteries(FLIBs)in the area of FEDs is evident;however,less attention has been paid to the mechanical behavior of FLIBs in comparison with the material and electrochemical characteristics.The present paper reviewed the research works in the FLIBs,focusing on their mechanical integrity and electrochemical performances.First,an introduction to FLIBs was presented,and the previous review papers published in this field were briefly introduced.Then,a detailed review of the available electrochemical and mechanical research works on FLIBs was presented.Moreover,the mechanical testing methods(tensile,compressive,indentation,fatigue,and adhesion)for the characterization of FLIBs’components,the research works on the simulation and modeling of the mechanical behavior of FLIBs,and a summary of the present situation and the future trend of research in this field were reviewed and presented.

Corrosion performance,corrosion fatigue behavior and mechanical integrity of an extruded Mg4Zn0.2Sn alloy

Magnesium alloys are promising as load bearing components.They are inevitably exposed to cyclic loading and corrosive environment in actual service,which can consequently result in corrosion fatigue failure and loss of mechanical integrity of the material.Therefore,in the present study,the corrosion behavior,corrosion fatigue performance and mechanical integrity of an extruded Mg4Zn0.2Sn(wt.%)alloy were thoroughly studied in two corrosive electrolytes.Strong localized corrosion occurred when the alloy was immersed in deionized water based sodium chloride(NaCl)solution.The poor corrosion resistance of the alloy resulted in a fast deterioration of the tensile properties after pre-exposure to salt spray and a poor fatigue resistance in deionized water based NaCl solution.In comparison,the active dissolution of the substrate was sufficiently suppressed in artificial tap water based NaCl solution due to the formation of highly protective corrosion product layers.This consequently conferred longer fatigue life on the alloy in the electrolyte.Our results emphasized the influence of corrosion on the fatigue behavior and tensile properties of magnesium alloys.

Automated ex-situ detection of pitting corrosion and its effect on the mechanical integrity of rare earth magnesium alloy-WE43

This study develops a three-dimensional automated detection framework(PitScan)that systematically evaluates the severity and phenomenology of pitting corrosion.This framework uses a python-based algorithm to analyse microcomputer-tomography scans(μCT)of cylindrical specimens undergoing corrosion.The approach systematically identifies several surface-based corrosion features,enabling full spatial characterisation of pitting parameters,including pit density,pit size,pit depth as well as pitting factor according to ASTM G46-94.Furthermore,it is used to evaluate pitting formation in tensile specimens of a Rare Earth Magnesium alloy undergoing corrosion,and relationships between key pitting parameters and mechanical performance are established.Results demonstrated that several of the parameters described in ASTM G46-94,including pit number,pit density and pitting factor,showed little correlation to mechanical performance.However,this study did identify that other parameters showed strong correlations with the ultimate tensile strength and these tended to be directly linked to the reduction of the cross-sectional area of the specimen.Specifically,our results indicate,that parameters directly linked to the loss of the cross-sectional area(e.g.minimum material width),are parameters that are most suited to provide an indication of a specimen’s mechanical performance.The automated detection framework developed in this study has the potential to provide a basis to standardise measurements of pitting corrosion across a range of metals and future prediction of mechanical strength over degradation time.

In-situ interaction of nano-PbS with gelatin

Water-soluble gelatin-PbS bionanocomposites （BNCs） were synthesized via a facile one-pot chemical reaction method at pH 7.40. The samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, UV-vis absorption spectra （UV-vis）, Fourier transform infrared spectra （FT-IR） and circular dichroism （CD）. FT-IR data were used to envis- age the binding of PbS particles with oxygen atoms of carbonyl groups of gelatin molecule. The possible integration mechanism between gelatin and PbS was discussed in detail. The effect of Pb2＋ and PbS on the conformations of gelatin has also been analyzed by means of UV-vis, CD and FT-IR spectra, resulting in less c^-helix content and more open structures （[3-sheet, r-turn, or expanded）. A new formula to calculate the association constant was proposed according to the relationship between the absorbance of gelatin-PbS BNCs and the free concentration of PbS, and apparent association constants K （298/303/308 K： 3.11/2.00/1.60 × 10^6 tool/L） at three different temperatures were calculated based on this formula. Thermodynamic parameters such as AG^θ, △Hθ and △S^θ were also determined. The results of the thermodynamic investigations indicated that the reaction was spontaneous （AG^θ 〈 0）, and enthalpy-driven （△H^8 〈 0）.

Approach and practice: integrating earth observation resources for data sharing in China GEOSS

Earth observation data sharing is an essential part of the data lifecycle and plays a critical role in Earth science research.Existing industry data sharing systems are affected by restrictions in distributed resource management and tightly coupled service interoperability.These systems currently offer no support for facilitating cross-disciplinary exploration and application.The lack of a national data sharing infrastructure has led to reduced international cooperation.These barriers are common and have hindered the development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems(GEOSS).The China GEOSS Data Sharing Network(China GEOSS DSNet)has been proposed as a part of China’s Plan for Implementing GEOSS(2016–2025)to address the above issues.In this research,we designed a national GEOSS data sharing framework,including resource integration mechanism,sharing-oriented metadata standards,and lightweight interoperability service to coordinate various Earth observation resources.So far,more than 29 million archived satellite metadata records and 200 TB of high-quality satellite datasets have been integrated under this framework.The results were demonstrated in the following applications:domestic satellite archived metadata query service,international Earth observation resource sharing service,and disaster emergency response service.