Effects of improved amino acid balance diet on lysine mammary utilization, whole body protein turnover and muscle protein breakdown on lactating sows

Background The study objective was to test the hypothesis that low crude protein(CP)diet with crystalline amino acids(CAA)supplementation improves Lys utilization efficiency for milk production and reduces protein turnover and muscle protein breakdown.Eighteen lactating multiparous Yorkshire sows were allotted to 1 of 2 isocaloric diets(10.80 MJ/kg net energy):control(CON;19.24%CP)and reduced CP with“optimal”AA profile(OPT;14.00%CP).Sow body weight and backfat were recorded on d 1 and 21 of lactation and piglets were weighed on d 1,14,18,and 21 of lactation.Between d 14 and 18,a subset of 9 sows(CON=4,OPT=5)was infused with a mixed solution of 3-[methyl-2H3]histidine(bolus injection)and[13C]bicarbonate(priming dose)first,then a constant 2-h[13C]bicarbonate infusion followed by a 6-h primed constant[1-13C]lysine infusion.Serial blood and milk sampling were performed to determine plasma and milk Lys enrichment,Lys oxidation rate,whole body protein turnover,and muscle protein breakdown.Results Over the 21-d lactation period,compared to CON,sows fed OPT had greater litter growth rate(P<0.05).Compared to CON,sows fed OPT had greater efficiency of Lys(P<0.05),Lys mammary flux(P<0.01)and whole-body protein turnover efficiency(P<0.05).Compared to CON,sows fed OPT tended to have lower whole body protein breakdown rate(P=0.069).Muscle protein breakdown rate did not differ between OPT and CON(P=0.197).Conclusion Feeding an improved AA balance diet increased efficiency of Lys and reduced whole-body protein turnover and protein breakdown.These results imply that the lower maternal N retention observed in lactating sows fed improved AA balance diets in previous studies may be a result of greater partitioning of AA towards milk rather than greater body protein breakdown.

Supramolecular polymer-based gel fracturing fluid with a double network applied in ultra-deep hydraulic fracturing

A gel based on polyacrylamide,exhibiting delayed crosslinking characteristics,emerges as the preferred solution for mitigating degradation under conditions of high temperature and extended shear in ultralong wellbores.High viscosity/viscoelasticity of the fracturing fluid was required to maintain excellent proppant suspension properties before gelling.Taking into account both the cost and the potential damage to reservoirs,polymers with lower concentrations and molecular weights are generally preferred.In this work,the supramolecular action was integrated into the polymer,resulting in significant increases in the viscosity and viscoelasticity of the synthesized supramolecular polymer system.The double network gel,which is formed by the combination of the supramolecular polymer system and a small quantity of Zr-crosslinker,effectively resists temperature while minimizing permeability damage to the reservoir.The results indicate that the supramolecular polymer system with a molecular weight of(268—380)×10^(4)g/mol can achieve the same viscosity and viscoelasticity at 0.4 wt%due to the supramolecular interaction between polymers,compared to the 0.6 wt%traditional polymer(hydrolyzed polyacrylamide,molecular weight of 1078×10^(4)g/mol).The supramolecular polymer system possessed excellent proppant suspension properties with a 0.55 cm/min sedimentation rate at 0.4 wt%,whereas the0.6 wt%traditional polymer had a rate of 0.57 cm/min.In comparison to the traditional gel with a Zrcrosslinker concentration of 0.6 wt%and an elastic modulus of 7.77 Pa,the double network gel with a higher elastic modulus(9.00 Pa)could be formed only at 0.1 wt%Zr-crosslinker,which greatly reduced the amount of residue of the fluid after gel-breaking.The viscosity of the double network gel was66 m Pa s after 2 h shearing,whereas the traditional gel only reached 27 m Pa s.

Effect of neutral polymeric bonding agent on tensile mechanical properties and damage evolution of NEPE propellant

Introducing Neutral Polymeric bonding agents(NPBA) into the Nitrate Ester Plasticized Polyether(NEPE)propellant could improve the adhesion between filler/matrix interface, thereby contributing to the development of new generations of the NEPE propellant with better mechanical properties. Therefore,understanding the effects of NPBA on the deformation and damage evolution of the NEPE propellant is fundamental to material design and applications. This paper studies the uniaxial tensile and stress relaxation responses of the NEPE propellant with different amounts of NPBA. The damage evolution in terms of interface debonding is further investigated using a cohesive-zone model(CZM). Experimental results show that the initial modulus and strength of the NEPE propellant increase with the increasing amount of NPBA while the elongation decreases. Meanwhile, the relaxation rate slows down and a higher long-term equilibrium modulus is reached. Experimental and numerical analyses indicate that interface debonding and crack propagation along filler-matrix interface are the dominant damage mechanism for the samples with a low amount of NPBA, while damage localization and crack advancement through the matrix are predominant for the ones with a high amount of NPBA. Finally, crosslinking density tests and simulation results also show that the effect of the bonding agent is interfacial rather than due to the overall crosslinking density change of the binder.

Incidental Finding of Pyeloureteral Junction Syndrome during Extension Workup for Prostatic Adenocarcinoma

Introduction: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. In cases of suspected locally advanced disease or lymph node or bone metastases, thoraco-abdomino-pelvic CT is still useful for detecting visceral metastases. In the course of this extension work-up, other abnormalities may be discovered by chance, which had previously remained silent, and which could be diagnosed and managed in childhood, hence the interest of presenting a case of incidental finding of pyeloureteral junction syndrome during extension workup for prostatic adenocarcinoma at Yaounde Central Hospital. Observation: A 72-year-old patient presented to the department with acute urinary retention. The clinical examination, with an empty bladder, and in particular the digital rectal exam (DRE), was in favor of malignant prostatic hypertrophy. A workup was ordered, including a total PSA returned to 61.3 ng/ml (PSA performed one week after the episode of acute urinary retention) with cytobacteriological examination of sterile urine. Renal function was slightly impaired, with creatinemia at 14 ng/ml. Renal and vesico-prostatic ultrasound revealed a 57 g prostate with regular, clean contours and a polycystic right kidney. A prostate biopsy was indicated, which revealed a histopathological aspect in favor of a prostatic adenocarcinoma ISUP 1. An extension work-up including a thoraco-abdomino-pelvic CT scan revealed no signs of local or distant secondary localization, but a pyeloureteral junction syndrome with significant hydronephrosis, parenchymal destruction and compensatory hypertrophy of the contralateral kidney was found. Conclusion: The prostate cancer extension work-up revealed a pathology that can be diagnosed early. It is therefore important to reinforce prenatal and natal screening, which will enable malformative uropathies to be identified early and corrected in time to preserve patients’ renal function. Furthermore, we must be careful in the ultrasound diagnosis of pyeloureteral junction syndrome.

Study of inter-well interference in shale gas reservoirs by a robust production data analysis method based on deconvolution

In order to overcome the defects that the analysis of multi-well typical curves of shale gas reservoirs is rarely applied to engineering,this study proposes a robust production data analysis method based on deconvolution,which is used for multi-well inter-well interference research.In this study,a multi-well conceptual trilinear seepage model for multi-stage fractured horizontal wells was established,and its Laplace solutions under two different outer boundary conditions were obtained.Then,an improved pressure deconvolution algorithm was used to normalize the scattered production data.Furthermore,the typical curve fitting was carried out using the production data and the seepage model solution.Finally,some reservoir parameters and fracturing parameters were interpreted,and the intensity of inter-well interference was compared.The effectiveness of the method was verified by analyzing the production dynamic data of six shale gas wells in Duvernay area.The results showed that the fitting effect of typical curves was greatly improved due to the mutual restriction between deconvolution calculation parameter debugging and seepage model parameter debugging.Besides,by using the morphological characteristics of the log-log typical curves and the time corresponding to the intersection point of the log-log typical curves of two models under different outer boundary conditions,the strength of the interference between wells on the same well platform was well judged.This work can provide a reference for the optimization of well spacing and hydraulic fracturing measures for shale gas wells.

Synthesis of multifunctional additives for solid propellants:Structure,properties and mechanism

To simplify the composite propellant formulation and address the current issue of the single-functionality present in existing additives,the multi-cyano,amine-based polybutadiene(AEHTPB-CN)was prepared based on AEHTPB by adopting appropriate synthesis strategies.By replacing 10% of HTPB binder in the propellant formulation,it can effectively enhance the interfacial bond strength between the propellant binder matrix and solid fillers(AP(ammonium perchlorate)and RDX(cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine)),the mechanical properties of the HTPB/AP/RDX/Al propellant were superior to blank control propellant with an improvement of 35.4% in tensile strength,62.0% enhancement in elongation at break,and reduce the propellant burn rate by 10.7% with any energy loss.The function mechanism of AEHTPB-CN was systematically elucidated through experiments and computer simulation techniques.The results show that the tertiary amine group in AEHTPB-CN can react with AP to form ammonium ionic bonds,and the hydroxyl and cyano groups can form hydrogen bonding interactions with AP,which enables AEHTPB-CN to be firmly adsorbed on the AP surface through chemical and physical interactions.For RDX,the interfacial bonding effect of AEHTPB-CN is attributed to their ability to form C-H···N≡C weak hydrogen bonding interaction between the cyano group and RDX methylene group.

The prediction of projectile-target intersection for moving tank based on adaptive robust constraint-following control and interval uncertainty analysis

To improve the hit probability of tank at high speed,a prediction method of projectile-target intersection based on adaptive robust constraint-following control and interval uncertainty analysis is proposed.The method proposed provides a novel way to predict the impact point of projectile for moving tank.First,bidirectional stability constraints and stability constraint-following error are constructed using the Udwadia-Kalaba theory,and an adaptive robust constraint-following controller is designed considering uncertainties.Second,the exterior ballistic ordinary differential equation with uncertainties is integrated into the controller,and the pointing control of stability system is extended to the impact-point control of projectile.Third,based on the interval uncertainty analysis method combining Chebyshev polynomial expansion and affine arithmetic,a prediction method of projectile-target intersection is proposed.Finally,the co-simulation experiment is performed by establishing the multi-body system dynamic model of tank and mathematical model of control system.The results demonstrate that the prediction method of projectile-target intersection based on uncertainty analysis can effectively decrease the uncertainties of system,improve the prediction accuracy,and increase the hit probability.The adaptive robust constraint-following control can effectively restrain the uncertainties caused by road excitation and model error.

Microstructure homogeneity and mechanical properties of laser-arc hybrid welded AZ31B magnesium alloy

Laser-arc hybrid welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy was carried out,the effects of welding parameters on weld formation,microstructure homogeneity and mechanical properties were investigated.The results showed that laser-arc hybrid welding was beneficial to improve the weld formation of magnesium alloy by inhibiting the defect of undercut and pores.The weld microstructure was mainly columnar grains neighboring the fusion line and equiaxed grains at the weld center.It was interesting that the grain size at the upper arc zone was smaller than that at the lower laser zone,with the difference mainly affected by laser power rather than welding current and welding speed.The welding parameters were optimized as laser power of 3.5 kW,welding current of 100 A and welding speed of 1.5 m/min.In this case,the weld was free of undercut and pores,and the tensile strength and elongation rate reached 252 MPa and 11.2%,respectively.Finally,the microstructure homogeneity was illustrated according to the heat distribution,and the evolution law of tensile properties was discussed basing on the weld formation and microstructure characteristics.

Compressive property and energy absorption characteristic of interconnected porous Mg-Zn-Y alloys with adjusting Y addition

In this study,interconnected porous Mg-2Zn-xY alloys with different phase compositions were prepared by various Y additions(x=0.4,3,and 6 wt.%)to adjust the compressive properties and energy absorption characteristics.Several characterization methods were then applied to identify the microstructure of the porous Mg-Zn-Y and describe the details of the second phase.Compressive tests were performed at room temperature(RT),200℃,and 300℃to study the impact of the Y addition and testing temperature on the compressive properties of the porous Mg-Zn-Y.The experimental results showed that a high Y content promotes a microstructure refinement and increases the volume fraction of the second phase.When the Y content increases,different Mg-Zn-Y ternary phases appear:I-phase(Mg_(3)Zn_(6)Y),W-phase(Mg_(3)Zn_(3)Y_(2)),and LPSO phase(Mg_(12)ZnY).When the Y content ranges between 0.4%and 6%,the compressive strength increases from 6.30MPa to 9.23 MPa,and the energy absorption capacity increases from 7.33 MJ/m^(3)to 10.97 MJ/m^(3)at RT,which is mainly attributed to the phase composition and volume fraction of the second phase.However,the average energy absorption efficiency is independent of the Y content.In addition,the compressive deformation behaviors of the porous Mg-Zn-Y are altered by the testing temperature.The compressive strength and energy absorption capacity of the porous Mg-Zn-Y decrease due to the softening effect of the high temperature on the struts.The deformation behaviors at different temperatures are finally observed to reflect the failure mechanisms of the struts.

Effects of antioxidant‑rich Lactiplantibacillus plantarum inoculated alfalfa silage on rumen fermentation, antioxidant and immunity status, and mammary gland gene expression in dairy goats

Background Milk synthesis in lactating animals demands high energy metabolism,which results in an increased production of reactive oxygen metabolites(ROM)causing an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants thereby inducing oxidative stress(OS)on the animals.To mitigate OS and postpartum disorders in dairy goats and gain insight into the impact of dietary choices on redox status during lactation,a feeding trial was conducted using alfalfa silage inoculated with a high-antioxidant strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum.Methods Twenty-four Guanzhong dairy goats(38.1±1.20 kg)were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments:one containing silage inoculated with L.plantarum MTD/1(RSMTD-1),and the other containing silage inoculated with high antioxidant activity L.plantarum 24-7(ES24-7).Results ES24-7-inoculated silage exhibited better fermentation quality and antioxidant activity compared to RSMTD-1.The ES24-7 diet elevated the total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),superoxide dismutase(SOD),glutathione peroxi-dase(GSH-Px),and catalase(CAT)activities in milk,serum,and feces of lactating goats(with the exception of T-AOC in milk).Additionally,the diet containing ES24-7 inoculated silage enhanced casein yield,milk free fatty acid(FFA)content,and vitamin A level in the goats’milk.Furthermore,an increase of immunoglobulin(Ig)A,IgG,IgM,inter-leukin(IL)-4,and IL-10 concentrations were observed,coupled with a reduction in IL-1β,IL-2,IL-6,interferon(IFN)-γ,and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-αconcentrations in the serum of lactating goats fed ES24-7.Higher concentrations of total volatile fatty acid(VFA),acetate,and propionate were observed in the rumen fluid of dairy goats fed ES24-7 inoculated silage.Moreover,the diet containing ES24-7 inoculated silage significantly upregulated the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2(NFE2L2),beta-carotene oxygenase 1(BCO1),SOD1,SOD2,SOD3,GPX2,CAT,glu-tathione-disulfide reductase(GSR),and heme oxygenase 1(HMOX1)genes in the mammary gland,while decreased the levels of NADPH oxidase 4(NOX4),TNF,and interferon gamma(IFNG).Conclusions These findings indicated that feeding L.plantarum 24-7 inoculated alfalfa silage not only improved rumen fermentation and milk quality in lactating dairy goats but also boosted their immunity and antioxidant status by modulating the expression of several genes related to antioxidant and inflammation in the mammary gland.

Understanding the dehydrogenation properties of Mg(0001)/MgH_(2)(110)interface from first principles

Magnesium hydride is one of the most promising solid-state hydrogen storage materials for on-board application.Hydrogen desorption from MgH_(2) is accompanied by the formation of the Mg/MgH_(2) interfaces,which may play a key role in the further dehydrogenation process.In this work,first-principles calculations have been used to understand the dehydrogenation properties of the Mg(0001)/MgH_(2)(110) interface.It is found that the Mg(0001)/MgH_(2)(110) interface can weaken the Mg-H bond.The removal energies for hydrogen atoms in the interface zone are significantly lower compared to those of bulk MgH_(2).In terms of H mobility,hydrogen diffusion within the interface as well as into the Mg matrix is considered.The calculated energy barriers reveal that the migration of hydrogen atoms in the interface zone is easier than that in the bulk MgH_(2).Based on the hydrogen removal energies and diffusion barriers,we conclude that the formation of the Mg(0001)/MgH_(2)(110) interface facilitates the dehydrogenation process of magnesium hydride.

Data-driven modeling on anisotropic mechanical behavior of brain tissue with internal pressure

Brain tissue is one of the softest parts of the human body,composed of white matter and grey matter.The mechanical behavior of the brain tissue plays an essential role in regulating brain morphology and brain function.Besides,traumatic brain injury(TBI)and various brain diseases are also greatly influenced by the brain's mechanical properties.Whether white matter or grey matter,brain tissue contains multiscale structures composed of neurons,glial cells,fibers,blood vessels,etc.,each with different mechanical properties.As such,brain tissue exhibits complex mechanical behavior,usually with strong nonlinearity,heterogeneity,and directional dependence.Building a constitutive law for multiscale brain tissue using traditional function-based approaches can be very challenging.Instead,this paper proposes a data-driven approach to establish the desired mechanical model of brain tissue.We focus on blood vessels with internal pressure embedded in a white or grey matter matrix material to demonstrate our approach.The matrix is described by an isotropic or anisotropic nonlinear elastic model.A representative unit cell(RUC)with blood vessels is built,which is used to generate the stress-strain data under different internal blood pressure and various proportional displacement loading paths.The generated stress-strain data is then used to train a mechanical law using artificial neural networks to predict the macroscopic mechanical response of brain tissue under different internal pressures.Finally,the trained material model is implemented into finite element software to predict the mechanical behavior of a whole brain under intracranial pressure and distributed body forces.Compared with a direct numerical simulation that employs a reference material model,our proposed approach greatly reduces the computational cost and improves modeling efficiency.The predictions made by our trained model demonstrate sufficient accuracy.Specifically,we find that the level of internal blood pressure can greatly influence stress distribution and determine the possible related damage behaviors.

Progress in manipulating spin polarization for solar hydrogen production

Photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting using semiconductor materials are effective approaches for converting solar energy into hydrogen fuel.In the past few years,a series of photocatalysts/photoelectrocatalysts have been developed and optimized to achieve efficient solar hydrogen production.Among various optimization strategies,the regulation of spin polarization can tailor the intrinsic optoelectronic properties for retarding charge recombination and enhancing surface reactions,thus improving the solar-to-hydrogen(STH)efficiency.This review presents recent advances in the regulation of spin polarization to enhance spin polarized-dependent solar hydrogen evolution activity.Specifically,spin polarization manipulation strategies of several typical photocatalysts/photoelectrocatalysts(e.g.,metallic oxides,metallic sulfides,non-metallic semiconductors,ferroelectric materials,and chiral molecules)are described.In the end,the critical challenges and perspectives of spin polarization regulation towards future solar energy conversion are briefly provided.

A CSMA/CA based MAC protocol for hybrid Power-line/Visible-light communication networks:Design and analysis

Hybrid Power-line/Visible-light Communication(HPVC)network has been one of the most promising Cooperative Communication(CC)technologies for constructing Smart Home due to its superior communication reliability and hardware efficiency.Current research on HPVC networks focuses on the performance analysis and optimization of the Physical(PHY)layer,where the Power Line Communication(PLC)component only serves as the backbone to provide power to light Emitting Diode(LED)devices.So designing a Media Access Control(MAC)protocol remains a great challenge because it allows both PLC and Visible Light Communication(VLC)components to operate data transmission,i.e.,to achieve a true HPVC network CC.To solve this problem,we propose a new HPC network MAC protocol(HPVC MAC)based on Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance(CSMA/CA)by combining IEEE 802.15.7 and IEEE 1901 standards.Firstly,we add an Additional Assistance(AA)layer to provide the channel selection strategies for sensor stations,so that they can complete data transmission on the selected channel via the specified CSMA/CA mechanism,respectively.Based on this,we give a detailed working principle of the HPVC MAC,followed by the construction of a joint analytical model for mathematicalmathematical validation of the HPVC MAC.In the modeling process,the impacts of PHY layer settings(including channel fading types and additive noise feature),CSMA/CA mechanisms of 802.15.7 and 1901,and practical configurations(such as traffic rate,transit buffer size)are comprehensively taken into consideration.Moreover,we prove the proposed analytical model has the solvability.Finally,through extensive simulations,we characterize the HPVC MAC performance under different system parameters and verify the correctness of the corresponding analytical model with an average error rate of 4.62%between the simulation and analytical results.

Extrusion 3D printing of carbon nanotube-assembled carbon aerogel nanocomposites with high electrical conductivity

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)with high aspect ratio and excellent electrical conduction offer huge functional improvements for current carbon aerogels.However,there remains a major challenge for achieving the on-demand shaping of carbon aerogels with tailored micro-nano structural textures and geometric features.Herein,a facile extrusion 3D printing strategy has been proposed for fabricating CNT-assembled carbon(CNT/C)aerogel nanocomposites through the extrusion printing of pseudoplastic carbomer-based inks,in which the stable dispersion of CNT nanofibers has been achieved relying on the high viscosity of carbomer microgels.After extrusion printing,the chemical solidification through polymerizing RF sols enables 3D-printed aerogel nanocomposites to display high shape fidelity in macroscopic geometries.Benefiting from the micro-nano scale assembly of CNT nanofiber networks and carbon nanoparticle networks in composite phases,3D-printed CNT/C aerogels exhibit enhanced mechanical strength(fracture strength,0.79 MPa)and typical porous structure characteristics,including low density(0.220 g cm^(-3)),high surface area(298.4 m^(2)g^(-1)),and concentrated pore diameter distribution(~32.8nm).More importantly,CNT nanofibers provide an efficient electron transport pathway,imparting 3D-printed CNT/C aerogel composites with a high electrical conductivity of 1.49 S cm^(-1).Our work would offer feasible guidelines for the design and fabrication of shape-dominated functional materials by additive manufacturing.

Marrying luminescent metal nanoclusters to C_(3)N_(4) for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

Photocatalytic oxygen(O_(2))reduction has been considered a promising method for hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2))production.However,the poor visible light harvesting and low-efficient separation and generation of charge carriers of conventional photocatalysts strongly limited their photocatalytic H_(2)O_(2) generation performance.Herein,we design a highly efficient photocatalyst in this work by marrying luminescent gold-silver nanoclusters(AuAg NCs)to polyethyleneimine(PEI)modified C_(3)N_(4)(C3N4-PEI).The key design in this work is the utilization of highly luminescent AuAg NCs as photosensitizers to promote the generation and separation of charge carriers of C_(3)N_(4)-PEI,thereby ultimately producing abundant e−for O_(2) reduction under visible light illumination(λ≥400 nm).As a result,the as-designed photocatalyst(C3N4-PEI-AuAg NCs)exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity with an H_(2)O_(2) production capability of 82μM in pure water,which is 3.5 times higher than pristine C_(3)N_(4)(23μM).This interesting design provides a paradigm in developing other high-efficient photocatalysts for visible-light-driven H_(2)O_(2) production.

A triboelectric nanogenerator based on a spiral rotating shaft for efficient marine energy harvesting of the hydrostatic pressure differential

Equipment used in underwater sensing and exploration typically relies on cables or batteries for energy supply,resulting in a limited and inconvenient energy supply and marine environmental pollution that hinder the sustainable development of distributed ocean sensing networks.Here,we design a deep-sea differential-pressure triboelectric nanogenerator(DP-TENG)based on a spiral shaft drive using modified polymer materials to harness the hydrostatic pressure gradient energy at varying ocean depths to power underwater equipment.The spiral shaft structure converts a single compression into multiple rotations of the TENG rotor,achieving efficient conversion of differential pressure energy.The multi-pair electrode design enables the DP-TENG to generate a peak current of 61.7μA,the instantaneous current density can reach 0.69μA cm^(-2),and the output performance can be improved by optimizing the spiral angle of the shaft.The DP-TENG can charge a 33μF capacitor to 17.5 V within five working cycles.It can also power a digital calculator and light up 116 commercial power light-emitting diodes,demonstrating excellent output capability.With its simple structure,low production cost,and small form factor,the DP-TENG can be seamlessly integrated with underwater vehicles.The results hold broad prospects for underwater blue energy harvesting and are expected to contribute to the development of self-powered equipment toward emerging“smart ocean”and blue economy applications.

Laminated Solid Timber Slab with Transverse Prestressing Using the Strategy of Interleaved Vertical Displacement of Lamellae

This article presents a study on the structural behavior of transversely prestressed laminated timber slabs,focusing on an innovative approach:vertically misaligned lamellae.This misalignment,achieved by sliding vertically the wooden lamellae rather than aligning them,enhances the slab’s cross-section moment of inertia,thereby improving load-bearing capacity and stiffness.Testing involved two groups of structural size specimens:one with vertically aligned lamellae(control group)and the other with misaligned lamellae(study group).Results showed the study group exhibited 42%superior stiffness and 10%less load capacity compared to the control.Failures typically occurred individually in the lamellae,particularly in those with defects or lower modulus of elasticity,concentrated in the middle third of the slabs’free span where tensile stresses peak.Despite a higher number of failed lamellae,the study group demonstrated promising performance.Analysis of prestressing bar indicated no damage at all in the thread,suggesting potential for reducing bar diameter.These findings offer crucial insights into applying these slabs in timber construction as well as to any kind of construction.

Electronic properties of 2D materials and their junctions

With an extensive range of distinctive features at nano meter-scale thicknesses,two-dimensional(2D)materials drawn the attention of the scientific community.Despite tremendous advancements in exploratory research on 2D materials,knowledge of 2D electrical transport and carrier dynamics still in its infancy.Thus,here we highlighted the electrical characteristics of 2D materials with electronic band structure,electronic transport,dielectric constant,carriers mobility.The atomic thinness of 2D materials makes substantially scaled field-effect transistors(FETs)with reduced short-channel effects conceivable,even though strong carrier mobility required for high performance,low-voltage device operations.We also discussed here about factors affecting 2D materials which easily enhanced the activity of those materials for various applications.Presently,Those 2D materials used in state-of-the-art electrical and optoelectronic devices because of the extensive nature of their electronic band structure.2D materials offer unprecedented freedom for the design of novel p-n junction device topologies in contrast to conventional bulk semiconductors.We also,describe the numerous 2D p-n junctions,such as homo junction and hetero junction including mixed dimensional junctions.Finally,we talked about the problems and potential for the future.

Choice of the Best Production Prediction Model for the Zagtouli Solar Power Plant in Burkina-Faso

In this paper, we present a study on the prediction of the power produced by the 33 MWp photovoltaic power plant at Zagtouli in Burkina-Faso, as a function of climatic factors. We identified models in the literature, namely the Benchmark, input/output, Marion, Cristo-fri, Kroposki, Jones-Underwood and Hatziargyriou prediction models, which depend exclusively on environmental parameters. We then compared our linear model with these seven mathematical models in order to determine the most optimal prediction model. Our results show that the Hatziargyriou model is better in terms of accuracy for power prediction.