Purification of Moringa oleifera Leaves Protease by Three-Phase Partitioning and Investigation of Its Potential Antibacterial Activity

One of plant-based products for dental care is plant-based proteolytic enzymes which are principally proteases. In order not to damage the protein and bioactive content, an efficient method should be employed for their purifications. As such, three-phase partitioning (TPP) was used to purify protease from moringa (Moringa oleifera). TPP is an emerging, promising, non-chromatographic and economical technology which is simple, quick, efficient and often one-step process for the separation and purification of bioactive molecules from natural sources. It involves the addition of salt (ammonium sulphate) to the crude extract followed by the addition of an organic solvent (butanol). The protein appears as an interfacial precipitate between upper organic solvent and lower aqueous phases. The various conditions such as ammonium sulphate, ratio of crude extract to t-butanol and pH which are required for attaining efficient purification of the protease fractions were optimized. Under optimized conditions, it was seen that, 35% of ammonium sulphate saturation with 1:0.75 ratio of crude extract to t-butanol at pH 7 gave 4.94-fold purification with 96.20% activity yield of protease in the middle phase of the TPP system. The purified enzyme from Moringa oleifera has no antimicrobial effect on the pathogenic bacteria tested. However, this purified enzyme, can be considered as a promising agent, cheap, and safe source which is suitable for using in various industries.

A Sharding Scheme Based on Graph Partitioning Algorithm for Public Blockchain

Blockchain technology,with its attributes of decentralization,immutability,and traceability,has emerged as a powerful catalyst for enhancing traditional industries in terms of optimizing business processes.However,transaction performance and scalability has become the main challenges hindering the widespread adoption of blockchain.Due to its inability to meet the demands of high-frequency trading,blockchain cannot be adopted in many scenarios.To improve the transaction capacity,researchers have proposed some on-chain scaling technologies,including lightning networks,directed acyclic graph technology,state channels,and shardingmechanisms,inwhich sharding emerges as a potential scaling technology.Nevertheless,excessive cross-shard transactions and uneven shard workloads prevent the sharding mechanism from achieving the expected aim.This paper proposes a graphbased sharding scheme for public blockchain to efficiently balance the transaction distribution.Bymitigating crossshard transactions and evening-out workloads among shards,the scheme reduces transaction confirmation latency and enhances the transaction capacity of the blockchain.Therefore,the scheme can achieve a high-frequency transaction as well as a better blockchain scalability.Experiments results show that the scheme effectively reduces the cross-shard transaction ratio to a range of 35%-56%and significantly decreases the transaction confirmation latency to 6 s in a blockchain with no more than 25 shards.

Current optimization-based control of dual three-phase PMSM for low-frequency temperature swing reduction

In this paper,a control scheme based on current optimization is proposed for dual three-phase permanent-magnet synchronous motor(DTP-PMSM)drive to reduce the low-frequency temperature swing.The reduction of temperature swing can be equivalent to reducing maximum instantaneous phase copper loss in this paper.First,a two-level optimization aiming at minimizing maximum instantaneous phase copper loss at each electrical angle is proposed.Then,the optimization is transformed to a singlelevel optimization by introducing the auxiliary variable for easy solving.Considering that singleobjective optimization trades a great total copper loss for a small reduction of maximum phase copper loss,the optimization considering both instantaneous total copper loss and maximum phase copper loss is proposed,which has the same performance of temperature swing reduction but with lower total loss.In this way,the proposed control scheme can reduce maximum junction temperature by 11%.Both simulation and experimental results are presented to prove the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control scheme for low-frequency temperature swing reduction.

Partitioning Calculation Method of Short-Circuit Current for High Proportion DG Access to Distribution Network

Aiming at the problemthat the traditional short-circuit current calculationmethod is not applicable to Distributed Generation(DG)accessing the distribution network,the paper proposes a short-circuit current partitioning calculation method considering the degree of voltage drop at the grid-connected point of DG.Firstly,the output characteristics of DG in the process of low voltage ride through are analyzed,and the equivalent output model of DG in the fault state is obtained.Secondly,by studying the network voltage distribution law after fault in distribution networks under different DG penetration rates,the degree of voltage drop at the grid-connected point of DG is used as a partition index to partition the distribution network.Then,iterative computation is performed within each partition,and data are transferred between partitions through split nodes to realize the fast partition calculation of short-circuit current for high proportion DG access to distribution network,which solves the problems of long iteration time and large calculation error of traditional short-circuit current.Finally,a 62-node real distribution network model containing a high proportion of DG access is constructed onMATLAB/Simulink,and the simulation verifies the effectiveness of the short-circuit current partitioning calculation method proposed in the paper,and its calculation speed is improved by 48.35%compared with the global iteration method.

A Two-Layer Active Power Optimization and Coordinated Control for Regional Power Grid Partitioning to Promote Distributed Renewable Energy Consumption

With the large-scale development and utilization of renewable energy,industrial flexible loads,as a kind of loadside resource with strong regulation ability,provide new opportunities for the research on renewable energy consumption problem in power systems.This paper proposes a two-layer active power optimization model based on industrial flexible loads for power grid partitioning,aiming at improving the line over-limit problem caused by renewable energy consumption in power grids with high proportion of renewable energy,and achieving the safe,stable and economical operation of power grids.Firstly,according to the evaluation index of renewable energy consumption characteristics of line active power,the power grid is divided into several partitions,and the interzone tie lines are taken as the optimization objects.Then,on the basis of partitioning,a two-layer active power optimization model considering the power constraints of industrial flexible loads is established.The upper-layer model optimizes the planned power of the inter-zone tie lines under the constraint of the minimum peak-valley difference within a day;the lower-layer model optimizes the regional source-load dispatching plan of each resource in each partition under the constraint of theminimumoperation cost of the partition,so as to reduce the line overlimit phenomenon caused by renewable energy consumption and save the electricity cost of industrial flexible loads.Finally,through simulation experiments,it is verified that the proposed model can effectively mobilize industrial flexible loads to participate in power grid operation and improve the economic stability of power grid.

Deciphering engineering principle of three-phase interface for advanced gas-involved electrochemical reactions

As an alternative to conventional energy conversion and storage reactions,gas-involved electrochemical reactions,including the carbon dioxide reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR),nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),have become an emerging research direction and have gained increasing attention due to their advantages of environmental friendliness and sustainability.Various studies have been designed to accelerate sluggish kinetics but with limited results.Most of them promote the reaction by modulating the intrinsic properties of the catalyst,ignoring the synergistic effect of the reaction as a whole.Due to the introduction of gas,traditional liquid-solid two-phase reactions are no longer applicable to future research.Since gas-involved electrochemical reactions mostly occur at the junctions of gaseous reactants,liquid electrolytes and solid catalysts,the focus of future research on reaction kinetics should gradually shift to three-phase reaction interfaces.In this review,we briefly introduce the formation and constraints of the three-phase interface and propose three criteria to judge its merit,namely,the active site,mass diffusion and electron mass transfer.Subsequently,a series of modulation methods and relevant works are discussed in detail from the three improvement directions of‘exposing more active sites,promoting mass diffusion and accelerating electron transfer’.Definitively,we provide farsighted insights into the understanding and research of three-phase interfaces in the future and point out the possible development direction of future regulatory methods,hoping that this review can broaden the future applications of the three-phase interface,including but not limited to gas-involved electrochemical reactions.

2D Minimum Compliance Topology Optimization Based on a Region Partitioning Strategy

This paper presents an extended sequential element rejection and admission(SERA)topology optimizationmethod with a region partitioning strategy.Based on the partitioning of a design domain into solid regions and weak regions,the proposed optimizationmethod sequentially implements finite element analysis(FEA)in these regions.After standard FEA in the solid regions,the boundary displacement of the weak regions is constrained using the numerical solution of the solid regions as Dirichlet boundary conditions.This treatment can alleviate the negative effect of the material interpolation model of the topology optimization method in the weak regions,such as the condition number of the structural global stiffness matrix.For optimization,in which the forward problem requires nonlinear structural analysis,a linear solver can be applied in weak regions to avoid numerical singularities caused by the over-deformedmesh.To enhance the robustness of the proposedmethod,the nonmanifold point and island are identified and handled separately.The performance of the proposed method is verified by three 2D minimum compliance examples.

Electrical characteristics of new three-phase traction power supply system for rail transit

A novel three-phase traction power supply system is proposed to eliminate the adverse effects caused by electric phase separation in catenary and accomplish a unifying manner of traction power supply for rail transit.With the application of two-stage three-phase continuous power supply structure,the electrical characteristics exhibit new features differing from the existing traction system.In this work,the principle for voltage levels determining two-stage network is dissected in accordance with the requirements of traction network and electric locomotive.The equivalent model of three-phase traction system is built for deducing the formula of current distribution and voltage losses.Based on the chain network model of the traction network,a simulation model is established to analyze the electrical characteristics such as traction current distribution,voltage losses,system equivalent impedance,voltage distribution,voltage unbalance and regenerative energy utilization.In a few words,quite a lot traction current of about 99%is undertaken by long-section cable network.The proportion of system voltage losses is small attributed to the two-stage three-phase power supply structure,and the voltage unbal-ance caused by impedance asymmetry of traction network is less than 1‰.In addition,the utilization rate of regenerative energy for locomotive achieves a significant promotion of over 97%.

Speed Regulation Method Using Genetic Algorithm for Dual Three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

Dual three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor(DTP-PMSM)is a nonlinear,strongly coupled,high-order multivariable system.In today’s application scenarios,it is difficult for traditional PI controllers to meet the requirements of fast response,high accuracy and good robustness.In order to improve the performance of DTP-PMSM speed regulation system,a control strategy of PI controller based on genetic algorithm is proposed.Firstly,the basic mathematical model of DTP-PMSM is established,and the PI parameters of DTP-PMSM speed regulation system are optimized by genetic algorithm,and the modeling and simulation experiments of DTP-PMSM control system are carried out by MATLAB/SIMULINK.The simulation results show that,compared with the traditional PI control,the proposed algorithm significantly improves the performance of the control system,and the speed output overshoot of the GA-PI speed control system is smaller.The anti-interference ability is stronger,and the torque and double three-phase current output fluctuations are smaller.

Optimization of Control Loops and Operating Parameters for Three-Phase Separators Used in Oilfield Central Processing Facilities

In this study,the Stokes formula is used to analyze the separation effect of three-phase separators used in a Oilfield Central Processing Facility.The considered main influencing factors include(but are not limited to)the typical size of oil and water droplets,the residence time and temperature of fluid and the dosage of demulsifier.Using the“Specification for Oil and Gas Separators”as a basis,the control loops and operating parameters of each separator are optimized Considering the Halfaya Oilfield as a testbed,it is shown that the proposed approach can lead to good results in the production stage.

Hybrid Graph Partitioning with OLB Approach in Distributed Transactions

Online Transaction Processing(OLTP)gets support from data partitioning to achieve better performance and scalability.The primary objective of database and application developers is to provide scalable and reliable database systems.This research presents a novel method for data partitioning and load balancing for scalable transactions.Data is efficiently partitioned using the hybrid graph partitioning method.Optimized load balancing(OLB)approach is applied to calculate the weight factor,average workload,and partition efficiency.The presented approach is appropriate for various online data transaction applications.The quality of the proposed approach is examined using OLTP database benchmark.The performance of the proposed methodology significantly outperformed with respect to metrics like throughput,response time,and CPU utilization.

Vibration characteristics of sandwich plates with an auxetic honeycomb core and laminated three-phase skin layers under blast load

In this article,vibration characteristics of sandwich plates with an auxetic honeycomb core and laminated three-phase skin layers subjected to blast load are studied.Higher-order ES-MITC3 element based on higher-order shear deformation theory(HSDT)to achieve the governing equations.The sandwich plates with the ultra-light feature of the auxetic honeycomb core layer(negative Poisson’s ratio)and reinforced by two laminated three-phase skin layers.The obtained results in our work are compared with other previously published to confirm accuracy and reliability.In addition,the effects of parameters such as geometrical and material parameters on the vibration characteristics of sandwich plates with an auxetic honeycomb core and laminated three-phase skin layers are fully investigated.

Enhancing ammonia production rates from electrochemical nitrogen reduction by engineering three-phase boundary with phosphorus-activated Cu catalysts

Electrochemical N_(2) reduction reaction(eNRR) over Cu-based catalysts suffers from an intrinsically low activity of Cu for activation of stable N_(2) molecules and the limited supply of N_(2) to the catalyst due to its low solubility in aqueous electrolytes.Herein,we propose phosphorus-activated Cu electrocatalysts to generate electron-deficient Cu sites on the catalyst surface to promote the adsorption of N_(2) molecules.The eNRR system is further modified using a gas diffusion electrode(GDE) coated with polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) to form an effective three-phase boundary of liquid water-gas N_(2)-solid catalyst to facilitate easy access of N_(2) to the catalytic sites.As a result,the new catalyst in the flow-type cell records a Faradaic efficiency of 13.15% and an NH_(3) production rate of 7.69 μg h^(-1) cm^(-2) at-0.2 V_(RHE),which represent 3.56 and 59.2 times increases from those obtained with a pristine Cu electrode in a typical electrolytic cell.This work represents a successful demonstration of dual modification strategies;catalyst modification and N_(2) supplying system engineering,and the results would provide a useful platform for further developments of electrocatalysts and reaction systems.

Automatic measurement of three-phase contact angles in pore throats based on digital images

With the help of digital image processing technology, an automatic measurement method for the three-phase contact angles in the pore throats of the microfluidic model was established using the microfluidic water flooding experiment videos as the data source. The results of the new method were verified through comparing with the manual measurement data.On this basis, the dynamic changes of the three-phase contact angles under flow conditions were clarified by the contact angles probability density curve and mean value change curve. The results show that, for water-wetting rocks, the mean value of the contact angles is acute angle during the early stage of the water flooding process, and it increases with the displacement time and becomes obtuse angle in the middle-late stage of displacement as the dominant force of oil phase gradually changes from viscous force to capillary force. The droplet flow in the remaining oil occurs in the central part of the pore throats, without three-phase contact angle. The contact angles for the porous flow and the columnar flow change slightly during the displacement and present as obtuse angles in view of mean values, which makes the remaining oil poorly movable and thus hard to be recovered. The mean value of the contact angle for the cluster flow tends to increase in the flooding process, which makes the remaining oil more difficult to be recovered. The contact angles for the membrane flow are mainly obtuse angles and reach the highest mean value in the late stage of displacement, which makes the remaining oil most difficult to be recovered. After displacement, the remaining oils under different flow regimes are just subjected to capillary force, with obtuse contact angles, and the wettability of the pore throat walls in the microfluidic model tends to be oil-wet under the action of crude oil.

Effects of Spin Transition and Cation Substitution on the Optical Properties and Iron Partitioning in Carbonate Minerals

The high-pressure behavior of deep carbonate dictates the state and dynamics of oxidized carbon in the Earth's mantle,playing a vital role in the global carbon cycle and potentially influencing long-term climate change.Optical absorption and Raman spectroscopic measurements were carried out on two natural carbonate samples in diamond-anvil cells up to 60 GPa.Mg-substitution in high-spin siderite FeCO_(3)increases the crystal field absorption band position by approximately 1000 cm^(-1),but such an effect is marginal at>40 GPa when entering the low-spin state.The crystal field absorption band of dolomite cannot be recognized upon compression to 45.8 GPa at room temperature but,in contrast,the high-pressure polymorph of dolomite exhibits a strong absorption band at frequencies higher than(Mg,Fe)CO_(3)in the lowspin state by 2000–2500 cm^(-1).Additionally,these carbonate minerals show more complicated features for the absorption edge,decreasing with pressure and undergoing a dramatic change through the spin crossover.The optical and vibrational properties of carbonate minerals are highly correlated with iron content and spin transition,indicating that iron is preferentially partitioned into low-spin carbonates.These results shed new light on how carbonate minerals evolve in the mantle,which is crucial to decode the deep carbon cycle.

Slope deformation partitioning and monitoring points optimization based on cluster analysis

The scientific and fair positioning of monitoring locations for surface displacement on slopes is a prerequisite for early warning and forecasting.However,there is no specific provision on how to effectively determine the number and location of monitoring points according to the actual deformation characteristics of the slope.There are still some defects in the layout of monitoring points.To this end,based on displacement data series and spatial location information of surface displacement monitoring points,by combining displacement series correlation and spatial distance influence factors,a spatial deformation correlation calculation model of slope based on clustering analysis was proposed to calculate the correlation between different monitoring points,based on which the deformation area of the slope was divided.The redundant monitoring points in each partition were eliminated based on the partition's outcome,and the overall optimal arrangement of slope monitoring points was then achieved.This method scientifically addresses the issues of slope deformation zoning and data gathering overlap.It not only eliminates human subjectivity from slope deformation zoning but also increases the efficiency and accuracy of slope monitoring.In order to verify the effectiveness of the method,a sand-mudstone interbedded CounterTilt excavation slope in the Chongqing city of China was used as the research object.Twenty-four monitoring points deployed on this slope were monitored for surface displacement for 13 months.The spatial location of the monitoring points was discussed.The results show that the proposed method of slope deformation zoning and the optimized placement of monitoring points are feasible.

Assessing Criteria Weights by the Symmetry Point of Criterion (Novel SPC Method)–Application in the Efficiency Evaluation of the Mineral Deposit Multi-Criteria Partitioning Algorithm

Information about the relative importance of each criterion or theweights of criteria can have a significant influence on the ultimate rank of alternatives.Accordingly,assessing the weights of criteria is a very important task in solving multi-criteria decision-making problems.Three methods are commonly used for assessing the weights of criteria:objective,subjective,and integrated methods.In this study,an objective approach is proposed to assess the weights of criteria,called SPCmethod(Symmetry Point of Criterion).This point enriches the criterion so that it is balanced and easy to implement in the process of the evaluation of its influence on decision-making.The SPC methodology is systematically presented and supported by detailed calculations related to an artificial example.To validate the developed method,we used our numerical example and calculated the weights of criteria by CRITIC,Entropy,Standard Deviation and MEREC methods.Comparative analysis between these methods and the SPC method reveals that the developedmethod is a very reliable objective way to determine the weights of criteria.Additionally,in this study,we proposed the application of SPCmethod to evaluate the efficiency of themulti-criteria partitioning algorithm.The main idea of the evaluation is based on the following fact:the greater the uniformity of the weights of criteria,the higher the efficiency of the partitioning algorithm.The research demonstrates that the SPC method can be applied to solving different multi-criteria problems.

Application of CD34 expression combined with three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography scanning in preoperative staging of gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Accurate preoperative staging of gastric cancer(GC),a common malignant tumor worldwide,is critical for appropriate treatment plans and prognosis.Dynamic three-phase enhanced computed tomography(CT)scanning for preoperative staging of GC has limitations in evaluating tumor angiogenesis.CD34,a marker on vascular endothelial cell surfaces,is promising in evaluating tumor angiogenesis.We explored the value of their combination for preoperative staging of GC to improve the efficacy and prognosis of patients with GC.Medical records of 106 patients with GC treated at the First People's Hospital of Lianyungang between February 2021 and January 2023 were retrospectively studied.All patients underwent three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scanning before surgery,and CD34 was detected in gastroscopic biopsy specimens.Using surgical and pathological results as the gold standard,the diagnostic results of three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scanning at different T and N stages were analyzed,and the expression of CD34-marked microvessel density(MVD)at different T and N stages was determined.The specificity and sensitivity of three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced CT and CD34 in T and N staging were calculated;those of the combined diagnosis of the two were evaluated in parallel.Independent factors affecting lymph node metastasis were analyzed using multiple logistic regression.RESULTS The accuracy of three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scanning in diagnosing stages T1,T2,T3 and T4 were 68.00%,75.00%,79.41%,and 73.68%,respectively,and for diagnosing stages N0,N1,N2,and N3 were 75.68%,74.07%,85.00%,and 77.27%,respectively.CD34-marked MVD expression increased with increasing T and N stages.Specificity and sensitivity of three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced CT in T staging were 86.79%and 88.68%;for N staging,89.06%and 92.86%;for CD34 in T staging,64.15%and 88.68%;and for CD34 in N staging,84.38%and 78.57%,respectively.Specificity and sensitivity of joint diagnosis in T staging were 55.68%and 98.72%,and N staging were 75.15%and 98.47%,respectively,with the area under the curve for diagnosis improving accordingly.According to multivariate analysis,a longer tumor diameter,higher pathological T stage,lower differ-entiation degree,and higher expression of CD34-marked MVD were independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis in patients with GC.CONCLUSION With high accuracy in preoperatively determining the invasion depth and lymph node metastasis of GC,CD34 expression and three-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced CT can provide a reliable basis for surgical resection.

Hybrid Strategy of Partitioned and Monolithic Methods for Solving Strongly Coupled Analysis of Inverse and Direct Piezoelectric and Circuit Coupling

The inverse and direct piezoelectric and circuit coupling are widely observed in advanced electro-mechanical systems such as piezoelectric energy harvesters.Existing strongly coupled analysis methods based on direct numerical modeling for this phenomenon can be classified into partitioned or monolithic formulations.Each formulation has its advantages and disadvantages,and the choice depends on the characteristics of each coupled problem.This study proposes a new option:a coupled analysis strategy that combines the best features of the existing formulations,namely,the hybrid partitioned-monolithic method.The analysis of inverse piezoelectricity and the monolithic analysis of direct piezoelectric and circuit interaction are strongly coupled using a partitioned iterative hierarchical algorithm.In a typical benchmark problem of a piezoelectric energy harvester,this research compares the results from the proposed method to those from the conventional strongly coupled partitioned iterative method,discussing the accuracy,stability,and computational cost.The proposed hybrid concept is effective for coupled multi-physics problems,including various coupling conditions.

Restraint effect of partition wall on the tunnel floor heave in layered rock mass

The presence of horizontal layered rocks in tunnel engineering significantly impacts the stability and strength of the surrounding rock mass,leading to floor heave in the tunnel.This study focused on preparing layered specimens of rock-like material with varying thickness to investigate the failure behaviors of tunnel floors.The results indicate that thin-layered rock mass exhibits weak interlayer bonding,causing rock layers near the surface to buckle and break upwards when subjected to horizontal squeezing.With an increase in the layer thickness,a transition in failure mode occurs from upward buckling to shear failure along the plane,leading to a noticeable reduction in floor heave deformation.The primary cause of significant deformation in floor heave is upward buckling failure.To address this issue,the study proposes the installation of a partition wall in the middle of the floor to mitigate heave deformation of the rock layers.The results demonstrate that the partition wall has a considerable stabilizing effect on the floor,reducing the zone of buckling failure and minimizing floor heave deformation.It is crucial for the partition wall to be sufficiently high to prevent buckling failure and ensure stability.Through simulation calculations on an engineering example,it is confirmed that implementing a partition wall can effectively reduce floor heave and enhance the stability of tunnel floor.