In high-speed hydraulic machinery, its efficiency and reliability are affected by the cavitation in the bearing. Due to the confined effect of the bearing clearance, cavitation bubbles grow in a two-dimensional way. To uncover the cavitation process with confined and high speed shearing effect, the high-speed cavitation flowing of different refrigerants is researched experimentally based on the high-speed shearing test rig with micro-clearance. The influence of thermophysical properties on growth of cavitation bubble is evaluated and analyzed. The confined effect of micro-clearance and high-speed shearing effect has a significant influence on the cavitation bubbles evolution. The high-speed camera is used to record the morphology of cavitation bubbles for various refrigerants with different thermalphysical properties. Furthermore, the thermal-sensitive cavitation model is used to analyze the bubble-foam alternation from cavitation flow inside micro-clearance. For different refrigerants, the growth process of cavitation bubble area is exponential. Inside the micro-clearance, the cavitation inducing pressure drops of different refrigerants are analogous due to the similar thermodynamic properties. According to pressure drop during cavitation, different refrigerants are classified by introducing dimensionless numbers, σ·Re (Jie et al., 2009) [2] and σ·We. The pressure and temperature drop increase with the dimensionless numbers. The refrigerants with similar thermodynamic properties have a similar relationship between dimensionless number and supercooling degree.
Defects in pipes adversely affect both the jacking construction process and long-term operational safety, yet their specific impacts on mechanical properties remain unclear. This study investigates pipe jacking segments under deflection, using the Changsha Meixi Lake project as a case study. Similar model tests combined with digital image correlation were employed to examine the evolution of stress and deformation under various deflection angles and defect conditions. The reliability of the laboratory tests was verified through theoretical stress calculations under the non-deflection condition. The credibility of the laboratory test results was further enhanced by employing a numerical model and normalized parameters. Key findings reveal that stress distribution characteristics are jointly determined by the deflection mode and load. Co-directional deflection exhibits a more significant stress concentration effect; under identical load and angle conditions, it results in higher stress levels due to a superposition effect, whereas diagonal deflection shows a weakening effect. Joint deformation progresses through three distinct stages. The linear growth stage exhibits an initial linear strain–load relationship under stable deflection (load < 2 kN). The accelerated deformation stage is characterized by nonlinear strain growth with a slowing deformation rate (2–4 kN). The deformation deceleration stage finally shows a slow linear strain increment (load > 4 kN). Increasing load and deflection angle significantly amplify axial deformation, particularly revealing a “thick-in-the-middle, thin-at-the-sides” compression characteristic in the 45° vault zones. Furthermore, segment defects markedly exacerbate stress non-uniformity. Defect angles ≥ 60° substantially increase the frequency and amplitude of compressive stress in the vault, accelerate the decay of tensile stress at the bottom, and critically reduce structural stability. These new findings provide significant insights for deflection control and structural safety assessment in pipe jacking engineering. The experimental framework provides fundamental insights into construction operations in upper-soft and lower-hard strata tunneling.
Objective A typical granulite–migmatite–gneiss dome developed in the Foping area of the central Qinling orogenic belt. This area is key to studying the metamorphic deformation of continental crust and the Mesozoic tectonic evolution of Qinling. The Yangtianba–Shimudi ductile shear zone along the dome's southern margin records information on middle–deep structural deformation during the late Triassic compressional–extensional transition, offering crucial constraints on the exhumation mechanism of the Foping dome. Methods A detailed investigation of representative metamorphic and deformed rock samples from the shear zone was conducted using structural analysis, mineral geochemistry, crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO), and geochronology. Field observations and kinematic vorticity analysis show that this shear zone developed under right-lateral ductile shear deformation controlled by pure shear. Results In the felsic mylonite, quartz primarily shows prism <a> and prism <c> slip systems, suggesting deformation occurred under amphibolite facies conditions at approximately 550–650 °C. The characteristics of the metamorphic mineral assemblages and the results of garnet–biotite–plagioclase thermobarometry indicate a clockwise P–T path, with peak metamorphic conditions of 568–611 °C/5.2–5.3 kbar and 630–654 °C/7.1–7.9 kbar. The isothermal decompression stage M2 recorded conditions of 590–616 °C/3.5–4.5 kbar. Zircon U–Pb dating of the leucosomes in the migmatites within the shear zone yielded an age of 180.8 ± 3.8 Ma, representing the lower limit of the ductile shear deformation. Conclusion Integrated with regional geological data, the metamorphic and deformational evolution of the study area can be reconstructed as follows: Prior to ~210 Ma, the central segment of the South Qinling tectonic belt was dominated by collisional orogenesis, leading to crustal thickening and the development of progressive metamorphism (M1) in the Foping area. During 210–200 Ma, the Foping region transitioned into post-collisional extension. This transitional phase was characterized by a bidirectional stress regime combining horizontal shortening and vertical collapse, which triggered ductile shear deformation (D1) in the Yangtianba-Shimudi area and initiated the isothermal decompression metamorphic event (M2). The region entered a phase of post-collisional extension at about 180 million years. Continued extension resulted in the formation of partial melts in the northern part of the study area. During the subsequent exhumation of the ductile shear zone, the mylonitic foliation was reformed by late fold deformation. [Significance] The findings provide a reference for discussing the detailed process of metamorphic deformation response in the process of Late Triassic–Early Jurassic tectonic transformation in the south of Foping dome.
This research explores the rapid expansion period of the early universe by applying the Chaplygin gas model, an alternative cosmological framework, to analyze the dynamics of inflationary processes. This study assesses the compatibility of three widely studied scalar field potentials with the latest observational constraints derived from the Planck datasets. Our analysis includes inflationary parameters such as slow-roll parameters, scalar power spectrum PR, scalar spectral index ns, dissipative ratio R, tensor-to-scalar ratio r and running of the scalar spectral index dnsdlnk, within the theoretical frameworks of canonical scalar field dynamics and the Chaplygin gas cosmological model. These parameters help to paint a comprehensive picture of the inflationary epoch and its impact on the observable Universe. We also address the generalized ratio of the swampland de-Sitter conjecture through the expression of T′VV′T for three different potentials. We analyze inflation driven by a scalar field ϕ with decay rate Γ(ϕ,T)=CϕTaϕa−1, where Cϕ is a dimensionless coupling and a controls dissipation strength. Working in the strong dissipative regime (R≫1), we systematically investigate the background evolution and perturbation spectrum, deriving inflationary observables.
Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity
C. P. B. O'Malley, C. P. B. O'Malley, G. G. Roberts
et al.
<p>The modern state of the mantle and its evolution on geological timescales are of widespread importance for the Earth sciences. For instance, it is generally agreed that mantle flow is manifest in topographic and drainage network evolution, glacio-eustasy, and the distribution of sediments. There are now a variety of theoretical approaches to predict histories of mantle convection and its impact on surface deflections. A general goal is to make use of observed deflections to identify Earth-like simulations and constrain the history of mantle convection. Several important insights into the role of radial and non-radial viscosity variations, gravitation, and the importance of shallow structure already exist. Here we seek to bring those insights into a single framework to elucidate the relative importance of popular modeling choices for predicted instantaneous vertical surface deflections. We start by comparing results from numeric and analytic approaches to solving the equations of motion that are ostensibly parameterized to be as similar as possible. Deflections predicted by such numeric and analytic models can vary by <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 10 %, and the difference increases to <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 25 % when viscosity is temperature-dependent. Including self-gravitation and the gravitational potential of the deflected surface is a relatively small source of discrepancy. However, spherical harmonic correlations between model predictions decrease dramatically with the removal of shallow structure to increasing depths and when radial viscosity structure is modified. The results emphasize the sensitivity of instantaneous surface deflections to density and viscosity anomalies in the upper mantle. They reinforce the view that a detailed understanding of lithospheric structure is crucial for relating mantle convective history to observations of vertical motions at Earth's surface.</p>
Background Over 50% of patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (r/r LBCL) receiving CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR19) T-cell therapy fail to achieve durable remission. Early identification of relapse or progression remains a significant challenge. In this study, we prospectively investigate the prognostic value of dynamic circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and track genetic evolution non-invasively, for the first time in an Asian population of r/r patients undergoing CAR19 T-cell therapy.Methods Longitudinal plasma samples were prospectively collected both before lymphodepletion and at multiple timepoints after CAR19 T-cell infusion. ctDNA was detected using a capture-based next-generation sequencing which has been validated in untreated LBCL.Results The study enrolled 23 patients with r/r LBCL and collected a total of 101 ctDNA samples. Higher pretreatment ctDNA levels were associated with inferior progression-free survival (PFS) (p=0.031) and overall survival (OS) (p=0.023). Patients with undetectable ctDNA negative (ctDNA–) at day 14 (D14) achieved an impressive 3-month complete response rate of 77.8% vs 22.2% (p=0.015) in patients with detectable ctDNA positive (ctDNA+), similar results observed for D28. CtDNA– at D28 predicted significantly longer 1-year PFS (90.9% vs 27.3%; p=0.004) and OS (90.9% vs 49.1%; p=0.003) compared with patients who remained ctDNA+. Notably, it is the first time to report that shorter ctDNA fragments (<170 base pairs) were significantly associated with poorer PFS (p=0.031 for D14; p=0.002 for D28) and OS (p=0.013 for D14; p=0.008 for D28) in patients with LBCL receiving CAR T-cell therapy. Multiple mutated genes exhibited an elevated prevalence among patients with progressive disease, including TP53, IGLL5, PIM1, BTG1, CD79B, GNA13, and P2RY8. Notably, we observed a significant correlation between IGLL5 mutation and inferior PFS (p=0.008) and OS (p=0.014).Conclusions Our study highlights that dynamic ctDNA monitoring during CAR T-cell therapy can be a promising non-invasive method for early predicting treatment response and survival outcomes. Additionally, the ctDNA mutational profile provides novel insights into the mechanisms of tumor-intrinsic resistance to CAR19 T-cell therapy.
Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens
Introduction. A. N. Radishchev in his writings lays the foundations of a humanistic study of Russian society and an anthropological
understanding of economic orders. Most of the works were not published during his lifetime; the scientific publication of works and the study of
views, mainly of a social nature, was undertaken in the 1940s–1950s. The comments emphasized the radical worldview of the thinker, manifested
in the literary fi eld. In reality, the enlightener’s work is more multifaceted and covers philosophy, law, history, and economics. Three life periods
are distinguished, diff erent in subject matter, but consonant with moral ideas. Theoretical analysis. The fi rst period of writing is characterized
by works of social philosophy, fi ction and offi cial notes of a legal and economic nature, in which Radishchev’s ambivalent attitude to power, awmaking and moral values is revealed. The probable coincidence of the enlightener’s views with his European contemporaries (Locke, Diderot,
A. Smith, Blackstone) and Russian philosophers (Tatishchev, Storkh) is revealed. Parallels with the works of I. Kant and the categorical apparatus
of modern economic anthropology are determined. Empirical analysis. The views of Radishchev and Catherine II are interpreted in a comparative
way. It is shown that there are no direct invectives in the “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” against the Empress. The works on legislation
in the third period of creativity are an adjusted continuation of the works of the fi rst period. The most complete economic and anthropological
theme is presented in the essay “On Chinese Bargaining”, which implicitly rejects the principles of the government’s economic policy, which
does not take into account the spatial identity of Russia, its civilizational mission and the potential of free enterprise. Results. The writings
of A. N. Radishchev anticipate the fi eld of research of modern economic anthropology: the importance of refl ection in human behavior, its noumenal and phenomenal representation, historical construction of ways of action and thought, performative thinking, hierarchy and fragmentation
of power, structuration of economic (market) relations are taken into consideration. The key concepts are collective faith, feelings and habits,
inclinations and individual diff erences, good-action, objective and subjective interests, reasonableness and rationality in historical refraction.
The problems of conciliarity, will, moral imperatives, acquisition of systematic knowledge, necessity of laws, human rights are highlighted as the
most important from the position of the enlightener.
The tea aphid (Toxoptera aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe) is an important tea plant pest insect worldwide. The parasitoid wasp, Aphelinus sp., is one of the most important natural enemies of the tea aphid in China. Unfortunately, Aphelinus sp. alone cannot effectively control the outbreaks of the aphid under natural conditions. In this study, 27 volatile compounds from tea aphid-injured tea shoots, tea flowers, aphid sex pheromones, or body rinses were selected and tested in Y-tube olfactometer assays to find potential attractants of the parasitoid wasp, Aphelinus sp. Based on the Y-tube assay results, the following three attractant mixtures were formulated and further tested in the field. Attractant-1 (HIPV-based) included trans-2-hexenal (10−6 g/ml), β-ionone (10−6 g/ml), allyl isothiocyanate (10−4 g/ml), trans-2-pentenal (10−2 g/ml), and jasmone (10−2 g/ml) at equal loading volume of their solutions. Attractant-2 (with aphid sex-pheromone and body rinse compounds) included nepetalactone (10−6 g/ml), 2,5-hexanedione (10−4 g/ml), benzaldehyde (10−2 g/ml), eicosane (10−2 g/ml), and heptadecane (10−2 g/ml) at equal loading volume of their solutions. Attractant-3 (partial combination of Attractant-1 and Attractant-2) included nepetalactone (10−4 g/ml), benzaldehyde (10−2 g/ml), jasmone (10−2 g/ml), trans-2-hexenal (10−6 g/ml), eicosane (10−2 g/ml), and heptadecane (10−2 g/ml) at equal loading volume of their solutions. Field trials showed that Attractant-3 was much more attractive to the parasitic wasps than Attractant-1 and Attractant-2. From late August to late September the controlled release of Attractant-3 effectively attracted Aphelinus sp. to parasitize and colonize the aphid populations in the treated tea plantations, resulting in a progressive decrease of the tea aphid abundances/populations in the fall. The continued enhanced parasitism of overwintered aphids by Aphelinus sp. further reduced this population during the next spring tea harvest season. This approach may present an environmentally sound, non-insecticidal control tactic against tea aphids using synthetic semiochemicals.
Artificial neural networks are means which are, among several other approaches, effectively usable for modelling and control of non-linear dynamic systems. In case of modelling systems input and output signals are a-priori known, supervised learning methods can be used. But in case of controller design of dynamic systems the required (optimal) controller output is a-priori unknown, supervised learning cannot be used. In such case we only can define some criterion function, which represents the required control performance of the closed-loop system. We present a neuro-evolution design for control of a continuous-time controller of non-linear dynamic systems. The controller is represented by an MLP-type artificial neural network. The learning algorithm of the neural network is based on an evolutionary approach with genetic algorithm. An integral-type performance index representing control quality, which is based on closed-loop simulation, is minimised. The results are demonstrated on selected experiments with controller reference value changes as well as with noisy system outputs.
An advanced development in construction industry was achieved by applying ultra-high-performance concrete technology (UHPC). Intensive research efforts had been concentrated in construction to produced amazing levels of qualities with strength greater than 150 MPa and high durability that had never been thought possible before. With this technology, it is possible to construct structures beyond the usual designs but with limited use in construction since it is not commercially viable to replace conventional concrete in most applications. This is attributed to the high cost of materials, the lack of their availability, limited design codes, and complicated manufacturing and curing techniques. This paper reviews the evolution of UHPC and the suggested ideas to replace its expensive composites by cementitious materials. However, concrete made with these alternative materials will not be of the same quality as the standard UHPC. Another promising choice, which seems to be more practical and easier to promote UHPC technology in construction, is looming on the horizon. It is based on the utilization of UHPC in hybrid structures by combining UHPC with other construction materials. The cost of production will hopefully be reduced with such composite structures that have the advantages of the combined materials. Therefore, it is recommended to continue research into this choice which will increase the potential of UHPC to be more accepted in many different construction applications.
The current article presents the influence of critical thinking on the students’ development. The research has been applied in two forms: secondary analysis and primary research, based on survey. Secondary research analyses the evolution of the number of high school students and school units at regional, county and city level.
The primary research was performed using the quantitative method; the survey was applied to 102 students from senior high school level. The questionnaire was implemented during the period May - June 2019 in Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău county, Romania. The quantitative research was chosen due to its fulfilment of the objectives of data collection regarding a problem of general interest.
The optimal foraging algorithm (OFA) was proposed by summarizing the rules of the animal foraging behavior in a group. Therefore OFA also has the defects of the swarm intelligence algorithm, such as easy to trap into local optimum and low convergence accuracy. In order to overcome these defects, an optimal foraging algorithm based on differential evolution (DEOFA) is proposed. The differential evolution mechanism contains mutation and crossover operators. The mutation and crossover operators are used to accelerate the convergence speed and global search capability of the OFA. The mutation operator is adopted to perform mutation operations centered on the optimal individual of each iteration to raise the convergence accuracy of the OFA. The test results of 30 benchmark functions show that the performance of DEOFA is better than nine compared algorithms in search accuracy, convergence speed and robustness. In order to verify the effectiveness of the DEOFA in solving practical problems, DEOFA is applied to solve the 0-1 knapsack problem. The test results in the six examples of 0-1 knapsack problems indicate that the DEOFA achieves better performance in accuracy, stability and high dimension.
Since the establishment of the Bretton Woods institutional framework in 1944, the World Bank played the lion’s share in development finance globally. Although World Bank initially operated in terms of inter-governmental cooperation in the field of international economic aid, it soon developed the development finance approach that led to the flourishing of Multilateral Development Banks in the 50s. During the 60s and the 70s development finance became increasingly tied to market-based consideration and started to phase out from the governmental sphere, bringing in private actors. The 80s marked the final stage of this evolution, through the role played by the so-called Washington Consensus and the idea that the State should roll-back from development finance as well as from many other aspects of economics. This contribution tries to depict the evolutionary path of development finance and MDBs’ from its original government-oriented activity to a market-driven activity, a dynamic roughly following the evolutionary path of globalization according to the Washington Consensus principles. In the final section the case of Chinese development finance is addressed, trying to assess to what extent a reversal process is at work in partially bringing back development finance activities within the governmental sphere.
Tomoya Maeda, Junichiro Iwasawa, Hazuki Kotani
et al.
Understanding evolutionary constraints in antibiotic resistance is crucial for prediction and control. Here, the authors use high-throughput laboratory evolution of Escherichia coli alongside machine learning to identify trade-off relationships associated with drug resistance.
Abstract Cavefishes represent one of the most bizarre and intriguing life forms inhabiting groundwater environments. One‐third of the known cavefishes worldwide is endemic to China, and almost half of those belongs to a single genus, Sinocyclocheilus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae). Analyzing the morphometrics of three Sinocyclocheilus species, we aimed to assess whether variability among conspecific populations exists. We predict that populations inhabiting different subterranean habitats (shallow vs. deep) show divergences in specific morphological traits to better cope with the local ecological conditions. Our results showed that the populations showing bigger eyes and reduced humpback were those occurring close to the cave entrance (habitats with light and high food availability), while specimens with smaller eyes and increased humpback were collected from deeper groundwater areas (habitats laying in darkness with food scarcity). This explorative study paves the way for further researches aiming to collect novel data on Chinese cavefishes and highlights the usefulness of these species in evolutionary studies.
After 50 years of oil and gas exploration in Longdong area of southwest Ordos Basin, NW China, a deep coal-formed gas field was discovered for the first time in Qingyang area. Through observation of field outcrops and core, analysis of common, cast and cathode thin sections, Ro and other geochemistry indexes, carbon isotope, electron microscope and other supporting tests and analyses, the hydrocarbon generation, reserves formation and reservoir formation characteristics of gas reservoirs at different buried depths in Yishaan slope were examined and compared. The deep gas reservoir has an average buried depth of more than 4 200 m, and the main gas-bearing formation is the Member 1 of Lower Permian Shanxi Formation, which is characterized by low porosity, low permeability, low pressure and low abundance. It is believed that hydrocarbon generation in thin seam coal source rocks with high thermal evolution can form large gas fields, high-quality sandstone reservoirs with dissolved pores, intergranular pores and intercrystalline pores can still develop in late diagenetic stage under deep burial depth and high thermal evolution, and fractures improve the permeability of reservoirs. High drying coefficient of natural gas and negative carbon isotope series are typical geochemical characteristics of deep coal-formed gas. The integrated exploration and development method has been innovated, and the economic and effective development mode of gas fields of “dissecting sand body by framework vertical wells, centralized development by horizontal wells” has been formed. The discovery and successful exploration of the large gas field has provided geological basis and technical support for the construction of natural gas fields of 100 billion cubic meter scale in the southwest of the basin, and has important guidance for exploration of coal-derived gas with deep buried depth and high thermal evolution widely distributed in China. Key words: Ordos Basin, Upper Paleozoic, Lower Permian, coal-formed gas, deep formation, high thermal evolution, Qingyang large gas field
One of the stable trends in development of the world electric power industry is the transition from monotony to diversity in its evolution. It is characterized by a wide range of the strategic tasks solved by a set of the used energy resources and a changing spectrum of the possible energy technologies. However in the thermal energy supply of consumers in Russia for almost 100 years there is practically the only system of water heat supply that does not meet modern ecological, anthropogenic, technological and social requirements which motivated authors to conduct research on the alternative system of electrical heating. Materials for the study of the two heat supply systems were the actual parameters of alternative systems and their implication in technological and economic spheres as well as the impact on environmental indicators. Research methods include system approach, analysis of statistical data and authors’ estimates. Result of comparing of the two alternative heat supply system is the classification of their positive and negative factors at the qualitative and quantitative levels of assessment. The conducted research has shown the significant advantages of the new electric heat supply system which is more in line with the requirements of sustainable development of Russian cities, preserves health and improves quality of life of their inhabitants.
Jean-Marc Costanzi, Pascal Mège, Alexandre Boissinot
et al.
Abstract Amphibians are particularly sensitive to landscape fragmentation. Potential barriers between breeding sites can negatively influence the dispersal of individuals and increase genetic structure between populations. In this study, we genotyped 10 microsatellites for 334 marbled newts (Triturus marmoratus) at 11 different locations in Western France. Samples were collected in different regions with contrasting agricultural landscapes (low and high proportion of arable land in the north and south, respectively). We found a strong genetic structure between the northern and southern sampling sites. Isolation by distance was recorded after 62 km, but within the northern region, little or no genetic structure was detected over large distances (up to 114 km). Genetic structure at shorter distance (43 km) was found between sites situated in landscapes with larger amounts of arable lands. A significant positive relationship was found between the pairwise genetic distance (Fst) between sites and the amount of arable land together with the distance between sites. Our results suggest that the Loire River might act as a corridor for the marbled newt, while arable land might act as a barrier. Finally, although a large city is located between sampling sites, no effect was detected on population structure.
Given that the modern world cannot be conceived without the existence of the steel and its use, the crude steel consumption may be considered as an indicator characterizing the economic development of a country. The purpose of this paper is to establish the evolution of the world, regional and state consumption of crude steel, both per total, as well as per inhabitant, but also the impact of the economic and financial crisis it had on the evolving evolution of using the crude steel. Data subject to the study are related to the period 2004 – 2014 and concern nine regions of development and ten countries.