基于虚拟元-有限元耦合的隧道内道床干缩裂缝细观研究

为解释道床与盾构隧道管片产生脱空的现象，研究新混凝土在浇筑后由干燥收缩产生的裂缝机理。基于虚拟元推导任意多边形骨料的刚度矩阵格式，利用UEL子程序实现有限元与虚拟元的耦合计算，纯弯梁数值试验结果表明耦合法较有限元法计算效率明显提升，且具有较好的稳定性。在此基础上，建立细观尺度下新老混凝土的干缩数值模型，并通过圆盘干缩模型验证了模型参数。研究骨料和砂浆的应力分布、内部湿度与裂缝发展的对应关系以及新老混凝土表面和界面的应力发展。结果表明：①收缩过程中，骨料主要承受压应力作用，砂浆沿骨料边界的切线方向受骨料约束作用易形成收缩裂缝，在新混凝土表面首先出现大量微小裂缝，随后界面两端发生剥离; ②受表面下骨料的约束作用，新混凝土表面拉应力呈现“驼峰”分布。开裂后表面被划分为多个收缩区，收缩区边界受拉应力，内部受压应力；③界面的拉伸和剪切应力由两侧开始增加，并且随着界面剥离的增加不断内移。在界面内部未剥离区域内存在由界面附近骨料约束导致的局部压应力和剪切应力增大。     

Visual privacy attacks and defenses in deep learning: a survey

The concerns on visual privacy have been increasingly raised along with the dramatic growth in image and video capture and sharing. Meanwhile, with the recent breakthrough in deep learning technologies, visual data can now be easily gathered and processed to infer sensitive information. Therefore, visual privacy in the context of deep learning is now an important and challenging topic. However, there has been no systematic study on this topic to date. In this survey, we discuss algorithms of visual privacy attacks and the corresponding defense mechanisms in deep learning. We analyze the privacy issues in both visual data and visual deep learning systems. We show that deep learning can be used as a powerful privacy attack tool as well as preservation techniques with great potential. We also point out the possible direction and suggestions for future work. By thoroughly investigating the relationship of visual privacy and deep learning, this article sheds insights on incorporating privacy requirements in the deep learning era.

     

Fabrication of crescent-shaped ceramic microparticles based on single emulsion microfluidics

Ceramic microparticles have great potentials in various fields such as materials engineering, biotechnology, microelectromechanical systems, etc. Morphology of the microparticle performs an important role on their application. To date, it remains difficult to find an effective and controllable way for fabricating nonspherical ceramic microparticles with 3D features. This work demonstrates a method that combines UV light lithography and single emulsion opaque-droplet-templated microfluidic molding to prepare the crescent-shaped ceramic microparticles. By tailoring the intensity of UV light and flow rate of fluid, the shapes of microparticles are accordingly tuned. Therefore, varieties of crescent-shaped microparticles and their variations have been fabricated. After sintering, the crescent-shaped alumina ceramic microparticles were obtained. Benefitting from the light absorption and scattering behavior of most ceramic nanoparticles, this system can serve as a general platform to produce crescent-shaped microparticles made from different materials, and hold great potentials for applications in microrobotics, structural materials in MEMS, and biotechnology.     

Meta-Analysis of Methamphetamine Modulation on Amyloid Precursor Protein through HMGB1 in Alzheimer’s Disease

The deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) through the cleavage of amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) is a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study used QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to conduct meta-analysis on the molecular mechanisms by which methamphetamine (METH) impacts AD through modulating the expression of APP. All the molecules affected by METH and APP were collected from the QIAGEN Knowledge Base (QKB); 78 overlapping molecules were identified. Upon simulation of METH exposure using the “Molecule Activity Predictor” feature, eight molecules were found to be affected by METH and exhibited activation relationships on APP expression at a confidence of p = 0.000453 (Z-score = 3.51, two-tailed). Core Analysis of these eight molecules identified High Mobility Group Box protein 1 (HMGB1) signaling pathway among the top 5 canonical pathways with most overlap with the 8-molecule dataset. Simulated METH exposure increased APP expression through HMGB1 at a confidence of p < 0.00001 (Z-score = 7.64, two-tailed). HMGB1 is a pathogenic hallmark in AD progression. It not only increases the production of inflammatory mediators, but also mediates the disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Our analyses suggest the involvement of HMGB1 signaling pathway in METH-induced modulation of APP as a potential casual factor of AD.     

In Situ Anchoring Ultra Small Au Nanoparticles by Conformal Coating of Carbon Layer within the Micro-Environments of Mesoporous Silica for Highly Efficient Catalytic Reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Catalysis Letters - For the noble-metal based catalysts, the metal dispersion and sinter resistance of the metal nanoparticles (NPs) are the most vital factors for their application in series...     

Design and fabrication of lutetium aluminum silicate glass and nanostructured glass for radiation detection

Flexible scintillating fiber plays an important role in X-ray radiation monitoring and high-resolution medical imaging, while construction of scintillating fiber derived from the commercial material system meet with limited success. Here, we report the design and successful fabrication of the Ce-activated lutetium aluminum silicate glass, nanostructured glass, and fiber, and explore their scintillating properties. The scintillating glass with optimized composition and optical properties is determined. The crystallization behavior of lutetium aluminum silicate glass is studied and the nanostructured glass embedded with orthorhombic Lu₂Si₂O₇ phase is successfully constructed for the first time. Importantly, the crystalline layer thickness of the nanostructured glass can be finely tuned and ~172.89% enhancement in the scintillating performance can be achieved. Furthermore, the fiber with large sized core is fabricated and its radiation response properties are tested. The results show that it exhibits high sensitivity and its scintillating emission is lineally dependent on the X-ray power, indicating the potential application for radiation detection.     

Fabrication of barium titanate ceramics via digital light processing 3D printing by using high refractive index monomer

A digital light processing (DLP) technology has been developed for 3D printing lead-free barium titanate (BTO) piezoelectric ceramics. By comparing the curing and rheological properties of slurries with different photosensitive monomer, a high refractive index monomer acryloyl morpholine (ACMO) was chosen, and a design and preparation method of BTO slurry with high solid content, low viscosity and high curing ability was proposed. By further selecting the printing parameters, the single-layer exposure time was reduced and the forming efficiency has been greatly improved. Sintered specimens were obtained after a nitrogen-air double-step debinding and furnace sintering process, and the BTO ceramics fabricated with 80 wt% slurry shows the highest relative density (95.32 %) and piezoelectric constant (168.1 pC/N). Furthermore, complex-structured BTO ceramics were prepared, impregnated by epoxy resin and finally assembly made into hydrophones, which has significance for the future design and manufacture of piezoelectric ceramic-based composites that used in functional devices.