Anti-explosion performance and dynamic response of an innovative multi-layer composite explosion containment vessel

An innovative multi-layer composite explosion containment vessel(CECV)utilizing a sliding steel platealuminum honeycomb-fiber cloth sandwich is put forward to improve the anti-explosion capacity of a conventional single-layer explosion containment vessel(SECV).Firstly,a series of experiments and finite element(FE)simulations of internal explosions are implemented to understand the basic anti-explosion characteristics of a SECV and the rationality of the computational models and methods is verified by the comparison between the experimental results and simulation results.Based on this,the CECV is designed in detail and a variety of FE simulations are carried out to investigate effects of the sandwich structure,the explosive quantity and the laying mode of the fiber cloth on anti-explosion performance and dynamic response of the CECV under internal explosions.Simulation results indicate that the end cover is the critical position for both the SECV and CECV.The maximum pressure of the explosion shock wave and the maximum strain of the CECV can be extremely declined compared to those of the SECV.As a result,the explosive quantity the CECV can sustain is up to 20 times of that the SECV can sustain.Besides,as the explosive quantity increases,the internal pressure of the CECV keeps growing and the plastic deformation and failure of the sandwich structure become more and more severe,yielding plastic strain of the CECV in addition to elastic strain.The results also reveal that the laying angles of the fiber cloth's five layers have an impact on the anti-explosion performance of the CECV.For example,the CECV with fiber cloth layered in 0°/45°/90°/45°/0°mode has the optimal anti-capacity,compared to 0°/0°/0°/0°/0°and 0°/30°/60°/30°/0°modes.Overall,owing to remarkable anti-explosion capacity,this CECV can be regarded as a promising candidate for explosion resistance.

Adaptive Event-Triggered Time-Varying Output Group Formation Containment Control of Heterogeneous Multiagent Systems

In this paper,a class of time-varying output group formation containment control problem of general linear hetero-geneous multiagent systems(MASs)is investigated under directed topology.The MAS is composed of a number of tracking leaders,formation leaders and followers,where two different types of leaders are used to provide reference trajectories for movement and to achieve certain formations,respectively.Firstly,compen-sators are designed whose states are estimations of tracking lead-ers,based on which,a controller is developed for each formation leader to accomplish the expected formation.Secondly,two event-triggered compensators are proposed for each follower to evalu-ate the state and formation information of the formation leaders in the same group,respectively.Subsequently,a control protocol is designed for each follower,utilizing the output information,to guide the output towards the convex hull generated by the forma-tion leaders within the group.Next,the triggering sequence in this paper is decomposed into two sequences,and the inter-event intervals of these two triggering conditions are provided to rule out the Zeno behavior.Finally,a numerical simulation is intro-duced to confirm the validity of the proposed results.

Distributed Adaptive Predefined-Time Bipartite Containment Algorithm for Nonlinear Multi-Agent Systems with Actuator Faults

Distributed adaptive predefined-time bipartite containment for a class of second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems are studied with actuator faults.The communication topology of multi-agent systems is fixed and directed.To ensure that followers can reach the convex hull spanned by leaders under the conditions of actuator faults,the sliding mode method is introduced.Control protocol for multi-agent systems demonstrates its effectiveness.Finally,simulations are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Lyapunov-Based Output Containment Control of Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems With Markovian Switching Topologies and Distributed Delays

This paper considers the mean square output containment control problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems(MASs)with randomly switching topologies and nonuniform distributed delays.By modeling the switching topologies as a continuous-time Markov process and taking the distributed delays into consideration,a novel distributed containment observer is proposed to estimate the convex hull spanned by the leaders'states.A novel distributed output feedback containment controller is then designed without using the prior knowledge of distributed delays.By constructing a novel switching Lyapunov functional,the output containment control problem is then solved in the sense of mean square under an easily-verifiable sufficient condition.Finally,two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Review of the prevalence,diagnostics,and containment measures of the current mpox outbreak

Monkeypox(mpox),is a disease from the Poxviridae family that can cause several serious medical issues.This mini-review sought to analyze the existing literature regarding the current mpox outbreak with a focus on the prevalence,diagnostics,and containment measures.Mpox cases have been reported to World Health Organization(WHO)from 85 Member States in all six WHO regions during the period of January 1,2022,through August 3,2022.Standardized or optimized guidelines for the clinical care of patients with mpox are limited,particularly in low-resource settings.In an effort to achieve guidance and meet standards,special attention should be paid to this outbreak in order to eradicate such a rare infectious disease by analyzing prevention and control measures.Patient outcomes may also be poor,and their illnesses may last for a long time.The spectrum of clinical symptoms,including complications and sequelae,as well as aspects of the illness may be indicators of sickness severity and complications;therefore,its clinical presentation must be better understood to improve containment measures.In addition,it is important to create and evaluate a standard of care that takes a variety of parameters into account,including antiviral,immune therapies,and clinical metrics that are particular to mpox.The global emergence of mpox has presented new challenges for public health and has called for further investigation into its epidemiological profile across international contexts.

Group-Consensus of Hierarchical Containment Control for Linear Multi-Agent Systems

The existing containment control has been widely developed for several years, but ignores the case for large-scale cooperation. The strong coupling of large-scale networks will increase the costs of system detection and maintenance. Therefore, this paper is concerned with an extensional containment control issue, hierarchical containment control. It aims to enable a multitude of followers achieving a novel cooperation in the convex hull shaped by multiple leaders. Firstly, by constructing the three-layer topology, large-scale networks are decoupled. Then,under the condition of directed spanning group-tree, a class of dynamic hierarchical containment control protocol is designed such that the novel group-consensus behavior in the convex hull can be realized. Moreover, the definitions of coupling strength coefficients and the group-consensus parameter in the proposed dynamic hierarchical control protocol enhance the adjustability of systems. Compared with the existing containment control strategy, the proposed hierarchical containment control strategy improves dynamic control performance. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed hierarchical control protocol.

Team-based fixed-time containment control for multi-agent systems with disturbances

We investigate the fixed-time containment control(FCC)problem of multi-agent systems(MASs)under discontinuous communication.A saturation function is used in the controller to achieve the containment control in MASs.One difference from using a symbolic function is that it avoids the differential calculation process for discontinuous functions,which further ensures the continuity of the control input.Considering the discontinuous communication,a dynamic variable is constructed,which is always non-negative between any two communications of the agent.Based on the designed variable,the dynamic event-triggered algorithm is proposed to achieve FCC,which can effectively reduce controller updating.In addition,we further design a new event-triggered algorithm to achieve FCC,called the team-trigger mechanism,which combines the self-triggering technique with the proposed dynamic event trigger mechanism.It has faster convergence than the proposed dynamic event triggering technique and achieves the tradeoff between communication cost,convergence time and number of triggers in MASs.Finally,Zeno behavior is excluded and the validity of the proposed theory is confirmed by simulation.

Phase structure evolution and coercivity mechanism of high-Co containing permanent magnets

The phase structure and magnetic properties of high-Co containing permanent magnets with high thermal stability have been systematically studied in this work.It is abnormal that the coercivity of annealed samples was slightly lower than that of sintered samples,while the coercivity was usually enhanced after annealing in conventional Nd–Fe–B samples.Further analysis showed that in addition to RE2(Fe,Co)14B main phase and RE-rich grain boundary phase,there were also new Co-rich magnetic phases located in the grain boundary.During annealing,the phase structures of high-Co containing magnets were readjusted,especially the increasing Co-rich magnetic phase and emerging RE-rich particles precipitated from the main phase.Eventually,the isolated RE-rich particles would act as the pinning center of the domain wall movement in demagnetization process.It was confirmed that the coercivity of annealed high-Co containing magnets was controlled by both nucleation and pinning.Pinning mechanism can partially compensate for the weakening of magnetic isolation due to increased Co-rich magnetic phase,which explained the moderate decrease in coercivity of annealed high-Co containing magnets.The discovery of new coercivity mechanism contributed to in-depth understanding of high-Co containing magnets.

Effect of forging on the microstructure and texture of a high Nb containing γ-TiAl alloy

The effect of forging on the microstructure and texture evolution of a high Nb containing Ti-45Al-7Nb-0.3W(at.%)alloy was investigated by X-ray diffractometer(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results show that the as-cast alloy is mainly composed of α_(2)/γ lamellar colonies with a mean size of 70μm,but the hot-forged pancake displays a near duplex microstructure(DP).Kinking and bending of lamellar colonies,deformation twinning and dynamic recrystallization(DRX)occur during hot forging.Meanwhile,dense dislocations in theβphase after forging suggest that the high-temperature β phase with a disordered structure is favorable for improving the hot-workability of the alloy.Unlike the common TiAl casting texture,the solidification process of the investigated as-cast alloy with high Nb content is completely via the β phase region,resulting in the formation of a<110>γ fiber texture where the<110>γ aligns parallel to the heat-flow direction.In comparison,the relatively strong<001>and weak<302>texture components in the as-forged alloy are attributed to the deformation twinning.After annealing,static recrystallization occurs at the twin boundary and intersections,which weakens the deformation texture.

Improved STNModels and Heuristic Rules for Cooperative Scheduling in Automated Container Terminals

Improving the cooperative scheduling efficiency of equipment is the key for automated container terminals to copewith the development trend of large-scale ships. In order to improve the solution efficiency of the existing spacetimenetwork (STN) model for the cooperative scheduling problem of yard cranes (YCs) and automated guidedvehicles (AGVs) and extend its application scenarios, two improved STN models are proposed. The flow balanceconstraints in the original model are decomposed, and the trajectory constraints of YCs and AGVs are added toacquire the model STN_A. The coupling constraint in STN_A is updated, and buffer constraints are added toSTN_A so that themodel STN_B is built.As the size of the problem increases, the solution speed of CPLEX becomesthe bottleneck. So a heuristic method containing three groups of heuristic rules is designed to obtain a near-optimalsolution quickly. Experimental results showthat the computation time of STN_A is shortened by 49.47% on averageand the gap is reduced by 1.69% on average compared with the original model. The gap between the solution ofthe heuristic rules and the solution of CPLEX is less than 3.50%, and the solution time of the heuristic rules is onaverage 99.85% less than the solution time of CPLEX. Compared with STN_A, the computation time for solvingSTN_B increases by 58.93% on average.

Promoting or Inhibiting?Influence of Railway Container Transportation on Regional Economic Development

In the context of building a country with a strong transportation network,railway container transportation(RCT)is an import-ant means of reducing costs,increasing efficiency,and adjusting transportation structures.Thus,its impact on regional economic devel-opment is important.Based on data from railway container-handling stations and spatial econometric models,this study discusses the differences in the development of RCT and their impact on regional economic development at different leves.This study has three main findings:first,there are significant regional differences in the development of the RCT.The intra-regional differences between the east-ern and central regions of China(which do not include Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan)are gradually narrowing,while the regional dif-ferences in the western region are widening.Meanwhile,the intra-regional differences in important economic zones such as Pearl River Delta Economic Zone(PRDEZ),Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone(CYEZ),Bohai Rim Economic Zone(BHEZ),and Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone(YRDEZ)are narrowing daily.Second,the development differences of RCT in regional level and import-ant economic regions level show different trends.The unbalanced features of large regions are increasingly evident,whereas the differ-ences in economic regions are decreasing.However,the problem of overlapping RCT remains prominent.Third,the transformation of RCT development mode and fierce competition among transportation modes cause RCT to have a restraining effect on the regional eco-nomy at three levels.Rational allocation of resources and other means must be used to guide the transformation from inhibition to pro-motion,and by formulating targeted policies that will promote the development of RCT,which will improve the transportation structure and help construct a country with a strong transportation system.

Structural Characteristics and Evolution of a Weighted Sino-US Container Shipping Network

This study selected the Sino-US route data from the top 30 global container liner companies between December 1,2019,and December 29,2019,as the data source utilizing the complex network research methodology.It constructs a Sino-US container shipping network through voyage weighting and analyzes the essential structural characteristics to explore the network’s complex structural fea-tures.The network’s evolution is examined from three perspectives,namely,time,space,and event influence,aiming to comprehens-ively explore the network’s evolution mechanism.The results revealed that:1)the weighted Sino-US container shipping network exhib-its small-world and scale-free properties.Key hub ports in the United States include NEW YORK NY,SAVANNAH GA,LOS ANGELES CA,and OAKLAND CA,whereas SHANGHAI serving as the hub port in China.The geographical distribution of these hub ports is uneven.2)Concerning the evolution of the weighted Sino-US container shipping network,from a temporal perspective,the evolution of the regional structure of the entire Sino-US region and the Inland United States is in a stage of radiative expansion and de-velopment,with a need for further enhancement in competitiveness and development speed.The evolution of the regional structure of southern China and Europe is transitioning from the stage of radiative expansion and development to an advanced equilibrium stage.The shipping development in Northern China,the Western and Eastern United States,and Asia is undergoing significant changes but faces challenges of fierce competition and imbalances.From a spatial perspective,the rationality and effectiveness of the improved weighted Barrat-Barthelemy-Vespignani(BBV)model are confirmed through theoretical derivation.The applicability of the improved evolution model is verified by simulating the evolution of the weighted Sino-US container shipping network.From an event impact per-spective,the Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has not fundamentally affected the spatial pattern of the weighted Sino-US container shipping network but has significantly impacted the network’s connectivity.The network lacks sufficient resilience and stability in emergency situations.3)Based on the analysis of the structural characteristics and evolution of the weighted Sino-US con-tainer shipping network,recommendations for network development are proposed from three aspects:emphasizing the development of hub ports,focusing on the balanced development of the network,and optimizing the layout of Chinese ports.

High patatin like phospholipase domain containing 8 expression as a biomarker for poor prognosis of colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND Patatin like phospholipase domain containing 8(PNPLA8)has been shown to play a significant role in various cancer entities.Previous studies have focused on its roles as an antioxidant and in lipid peroxidation.However,the role of PNPLA8 in colorectal cancer(CRC)progression is unclear.AIM To explore the prognostic effects of PNPLA8 expression in CRC.METHODS A retrospective cohort containing 751 consecutive CRC patients was enrolled.PNPLA8 expression in tumor samples was evaluated by immunohistochemistry staining and semi-quantitated with immunoreactive scores.CRC patients were divided into high and low PNPLA8 expression groups based on the cut-off va-lues,which were calculated by X-tile software.The prognostic value of PNPLA8 was identified using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis.The over-all survival(OS)rates of CRC patients in the study cohort were compared with Kaplan-Meier analysis and Log-rank test.RESULTS PNPLA8 expression was significantly associated with distant metastases in our cohort(P=0.048).CRC patients with high PNPLA8 expression indicated poor OS(median OS=35.3,P=0.005).CRC patients with a higher PNPLA8 expression at either stage I and II or stage III and IV had statistically significant shorter OS.For patients with left-sided colon and rectal cancer,the survival curves of two PN-PLA8-expression groups showed statistically significant differences.Multivariate analysis also confirmed that high PNPLA8 expression was an independent prog-nostic factor for overall survival(hazard ratio HR=1.328,95%CI:1.016-1.734,P=0.038).

GATA binding protein 2 mediated ankyrin repeat domain containing 26 high expression in myeloid-derived cell lines

BACKGROUND Thrombocytopenia 2,an autosomal dominant inherited disease characterized by moderate thrombocytopenia,predisposition to myeloid malignancies and normal platelet size and function,can be caused by 5’-untranslated region(UTR)point mutations in ankyrin repeat domain containing 26(ANKRD26).Runt related transcription factor 1(RUNX1)and friend leukemia integration 1(FLI1)have been identified as negative regulators of ANKRD26.However,the positive regulators of ANKRD26 are still unknown.AIM To prove the positive regulatory effect of GATA binding protein 2(GATA2)on ANKRD26 transcription.METHODS Human induced pluripotent stem cells derived from bone marrow(hiPSC-BM)INTRODUCTION Ankyrin repeat domain containing protein 26(ANKRD26)acts as a regulator of adipogenesis and is involved in the regulation of feeding behavior[1-3].The ANKRD26 gene is located on chromosome 10 and shares regions of homology with the primate-specific gene family POTE.According to the Human Protein Atlas database,the ANKRD26 protein is localized to the Golgi apparatus and vesicles,and its expression can be detected in nearly all human tissues[4].Moreover,UniProt annotation revealed that ANKRD26 is localized in the centrosome and contains coiled-coil domains formed by spectrin helices and ankyrin repeats[5,6].The most common disease related to ANKRD26 is thrombocytopenia 2(THC2),which is a rare autosomal dominant inherited disease characterized by lifelong mild-to-moderate thrombocytopenia and mild bleeding[7-9].Caused by the variants in the 5’-untranslated region(UTR)of ANKRD26,THC2 is defined by a decrease in the number of platelets in circulating blood and results in increased bleeding and decreased clotting ability[8,10].Due to the point mutations that occur in the 5’-UTR of ANKRD26,its negative transcription factors(TFs),Runt related transcription factor 1(RUNX1)and friend leukemia integration 1(FLI1),lose their repression effect[11].The persistent expression of ANKRD26 increases the activity of the mitogen activated protein kinase and extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2 signaling pathways,which are potentially involved in the regulation of thrombopoietin-dependent signaling and further impair proplatelet formation by megakaryocytes(MKs)[11].However,the positive regulators of ANKRD26,which might be associated with THC2 pathology,are still unknown.

A Pre-Selection-Based Ant Colony System for Integrated Resources Scheduling Problem at Marine Container Terminal

Marine container terminal(MCT)plays a key role in the marine intelligent transportation system and international logistics system.However,the efficiency of resource scheduling significantly influences the operation performance of MCT.To solve the practical resource scheduling problem(RSP)in MCT efficiently,this paper has contributions to both the problem model and the algorithm design.Firstly,in the problem model,different from most of the existing studies that only consider scheduling part of the resources in MCT,we propose a unified mathematical model for formulating an integrated RSP.The new integrated RSP model allocates and schedules multiple MCT resources simultaneously by taking the total cost minimization as the objective.Secondly,in the algorithm design,a pre-selection-based ant colony system(PACS)approach is proposed based on graphic structure solution representation and a pre-selection strategy.On the one hand,as the RSP can be formulated as the shortest path problem on the directed complete graph,the graphic structure is proposed to represent the solution encoding to consider multiple constraints and multiple factors of the RSP,which effectively avoids the generation of infeasible solutions.On the other hand,the pre-selection strategy aims to reduce the computational burden of PACS and to fast obtain a higher-quality solution.To evaluate the performance of the proposed novel PACS in solving the new integrated RSP model,a set of test cases with different sizes is conducted.Experimental results and comparisons show the effectiveness and efficiency of the PACS algorithm,which can significantly outperform other state-of-the-art algorithms.

Impact of Hinterland Manufacturing on the Development of Container Ports: Evidence from the Pearl River Delta, China

Container ports and hinterland manufacturing are two important forces of the local participation in economic globalization.This study,taking the Pearl River Delta(PRD),China with an export-oriented economy as an example,applies Huff and panel regres-sion models to evaluate the impact of hinterland manufacturing on the development of container ports during the period of 1993–2019.The results show that 1)the spatial patterns of hinterlands for hub ports help to determine the distribution range and scale of economic variables that affect port throughput;2)the hinterland’s gross manufacturing output has universally positive influence on port through-put,wherein export-oriented processing and the entire manufacturing industry have significantly positive impact on port throughput in 1993–2011 and 2001–2019,respectively;3)the two internal structural factors related to an export-oriented economy,labor-intensive sectors and foreign-funded terminals,have positively moderate the direct influence of hinterland manufacturing on port throughput.Our results highlight the importance of local context in understanding port-manufacturing relationship in developing economies.Based on our findings,policy implications are further proposed to enhance port network organization in PRD.

Application of Thermodynamic Database to Corrosion of ZrO_(2) Containing Submerged Entry Nozzle in Steel Continuous Casting Process

The CALPHAD thermodynamic databases are very useful to analyze the complex chemical reactions happening in high temperature material process.The FactSage thermodynamic database can be used to calculate complex phase diagrams and equilibrium phases involving refractories in industrial process.In this study,the FactSage thermodynamic database relevant to ZrO_(2)-based refractories was reviewed and the application of the database to understanding the corrosion of continuous casting nozzle refractories in steelmaking was presented.

Interaction of major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A with the blood-brain barrier

The functional and structural integrity of the blood-brain barrier is crucial in maintaining homeostasis in the brain microenvironment;however,the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation and function of the blood-brain barrier remain poorly understood.The major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A has been identified as a key regulator of blood-brain barrier function.It plays a critical role in promoting and maintaining the formation and functional stability of the blood-brain barrier,in addition to the transport of lipids,such as docosahexaenoic acid,across the blood-brain barrier.Furthermore,an increasing number of studies have suggested that major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A is involved in the molecular mechanisms of blood-brain barrier dysfunction in a variety of neurological diseases;however,little is known regarding the mechanisms by which major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A affects the blood-brain barrier.This paper provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the close relationship between major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A proteins and the blood-brain barrier,including their basic structures and functions,cross-linking between major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A and the blood-brain barrier,and the in-depth studies on lipid transport and the regulation of blood-brain barrier permeability.This comprehensive systematic review contributes to an in-depth understanding of the important role of major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A proteins in maintaining the structure and function of the blood-brain barrier and the research progress to date.This will not only help to elucidate the pathogenesis of neurological diseases,improve the accuracy of laboratory diagnosis,and optimize clinical treatment strategies,but it may also play an important role in prognostic monitoring.In addition,the effects of major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A on blood-brain barrier leakage in various diseases and the research progress on cross-blood-brain barrier drug delivery are summarized.This review may contribute to the development of new approaches for the treatment of neurological diseases.

Security Risk Assessment in Container Terminals:Empirical Evidence from Greece

The most prominent risk assessment techniques are founded on the values of measuring and controlling the frequency and the consequences of risks in order to assure an“acceptable level”of“safeness”mainly in the lines of environmental,health and hygiene and port product issues.This paper examines security risk assessment approaches within the emerging role of ports.This paper contributes to the current literature by considering the ports of Greece as a case in point and by measuring the degree of its security risk orientation based on certain valid risk factors drawn from the current literature.Moreover,it presents a security risk assessment methodology into the domain of port container terminals.Their potential for ports were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed by discussing issues of security approaches within the maritime industry,in order to facilitate improvement strategies.A two-dimension empirical study was conducted,in a time range of ten years(2010-2020)in order to provide evidence regarding security risk assessment in the port container terminal of Thessaloniki,in Greece.The findings of this study have significant strategic policy implications and shed more light on the role of security risks in the overall risk orientation of container terminals in practice.Finally,further research directions in security risk in ports are proposed.

Thermal-hydraulic and stress analysis of AP1000 reactor containment during LOCA in dry cooling mode

Some kinds of break in the reactor coolant system may cause the coolant to exit rapidly from the failure site,which leads to the loss of coolant accident(LOCA).In this paper,a stress analysis of an AP1000 reactor containment is performed in an LOCA,with the passive containment cooling system(PCCS) being available and not available for cooling the wall's containment.The variations in the mechanical properties of the wall's containment,including elastic modulus,strength,and stress,are analyzed using the ABAQUS code.A general two-phase model is applied for modeling thermal-hydraulic behavior inside the containment.Obtained pressure and temperature from thermal-hydraulic models are considered as boundary conditions of the ABAQUS code to obtain distributions of temperature and stress across steel shell of the containment in the accident.The results indicate that if the PCCS fails,the peak pressure inside the containment exceeds the design value.However,the stress would still be lower than the yield stress value,and no risk would threaten the integrity of the containment.