Mathematical modeling of growth of Salmonella spp. and spoilage microorganisms in raw oysters

The main objective of this study was to develop the primary and secondary models to describe the growth kinetics of Salmonella as well as background microorganisms in raw, shucked oysters. Samples, inoculated with a cocktail of two Salmonella serotypes, S. Typhimurium (CICC22956) and S. Enteritidis (CICC21482), were incubated at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 33, 37, 40, and 43 °C. Growth of Salmonella was observed at all temperatures, except at 4 °C. The background microorganisms grew at all temperatures. All growth curves clearly exhibited lag, exponential and stationary phases, and were analyzed using the Huang growth model. Three secondary models (Ratkowsky square-root, Huang square-root, and Cardinal parameter models) were compared for evaluating the effect of temperature on bacterial growth rates. Data analysis was performed using IPMP 2013, a free predictive microbiology software tool developed by the USDA ARS.The Cardinal parameters model underestimated the specific rates of the microorganisms at low temperatures. The Huang square-root model was more suitable than the Ratkowsky square-root model for describing the effect of temperature on growth of Salmonella, while the Ratkowsky square-root model, on the other hand, was more suitable for background microorganisms. For both Salmonella and background microorganisms, the logarithms of the lag phase were expressed as linear functions of the logarithms of specific growth rates. The results of this study can be used by the food retailers and regulatory agencies to estimate the microbial shelf-life of raw, shucked oysters.     

Evaluation of hydrodynamic behavior of the perforated gas distributor of industrial gas phase polymerization reactor using CFD-PBM coupled model

A 2D computational fluid dynamics (Eulerian–Eulerian) multiphase flow model coupled with a population balance model (CFD-PBM) was implemented to investigate the fluidization structure in terms of entrance region in an industrial-scale gas phase fluidized bed reactor. The simulation results were compared with the industrial data, and good agreement was observed. Two cases including perforated distributor and complete sparger were applied to examine the flow structure through the bed. The parametric sensitivity analysis of time step, number of node, drag coefficient, and specularity coefficient was carried out. It was found that the results were more sensitive to the drag model. The results showed that the entrance configuration has significant effect on the flow structure. While the dead zones are created in both corners of the distributors, the perforated distributor generates more startup bubbles, heterogeneous flow field, and better gas–solid interaction above the entrance region due to jet formation.     

Expression of RCAS1 Correlates with Urothelial Bladder Cancer Malignancy

RCAS1 is a protein that participates in regulation of the tumor microenvironment and its immune responses, all in order to evade the immune system. The aim of this study was to analyze RCAS1 expression in urothelial bladder cancer cells (and in fibroblasts and macrophages of the tumor stroma) and its relationship with the histological pattern of malignancy. Eighty-three postcystectomy patients were enrolled. We analyzed the histological maturity (grade), progress (pT stage), tissue invasion type (TIT), nonclassic differentiation number (NDN), and the ability to metastasize (pN). The expression of RCAS1 protein was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Indicators of histological malignancy were observed solely in association with the RCAS1 expression in cells in the border parts (BPs) of the tumor. Histological malignancy of the tumor, indicated by the pT and pN, and metastasis-free survival time, correlated significantly with RCAS1 expression in tumor neoplastic cells, whereas malignancy determined by grade, TIT, and NDN correlated with RCAS1 expression in fibroblasts and macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. These findings suggest that the increased RCAS1 expression depends on its cellular source and that RCAS1 expression itself is a component of various signaling pathways. The immune escape occurs within the tumor BPs, where the increase in the RCAS1 expression occurs within tumor cells and stromal cells in its microenvironment. We conclude that the histological pattern of tumor malignancy, indicated by grade, TIT, NDN, pT, and pN is a morphological indicator of immune escape.     

Analysis of adhesively bonded CFRE composite scarf joints modified with MWCNTs

The main objective of the present work is to improve the performance of bonded joints in carbon fiber composite structures through introducing Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) into Epocast 50-A1/946 epoxy, which was primarily developed for joining and repairing of composite aircraft structures. Results from tension characterizations of structural adhesive joints (SAJs) with different scarf angles (5–45°) showed improvement up to 40% compared to neat epoxy (NE)–SAJs. Special attention was considered to investigate the performance of SAJs with 5° scarf angle under different environments. The tensile strength and stiffness of both NE-SAJs and MWCNT/E-SAJs were dramatically decreased at elevated temperature. Water absorption showed a marginal drop of about 2.0% in the tensile strength of the moist SAJs compared to the dry one. Cracks initiation and propagation were detected effectively using instrumented-SAJs with eight strain gauges. The experimental results agree well with the predicted using three-dimensional finite element analysis model.     

云杉八齿小蠹Ips typographus L.虚拟模型构建方法研究

本文以云杉八齿小蠹Ips typographus Linnaeus为例,经标本选取,观察虫体整体形态,绘制整体结构草图,电子显微镜观察局部、得到局部数字图像,分别建立虫体每一部分的高精度细节。把模型每部分拼装在一起组成整体模型,构建出了云杉八齿小蠹三维虚拟昆虫数字化模型。     

SDN中基于KMOBPSO的高可靠性控制器部署算法

针对SDN中控制器系统的单节点故障问题,兼顾系统成本和系统时延,应用N+1冗余备份模型来提高SDN控制器部署的可靠性,并将其抽象为多目标优化问题.同时,提出了一种融合K-means聚类算法和遗传算子的多目标二进制粒子群算法——KMOBPSO算法,以求解SDN控制器高可靠性部署问题的解.仿真结果表明,所提算法具有求解精度高、分布均匀、沿Pareto前沿面覆盖广的特点,能够显著提高SDN中控制器部署的可靠性.     

Generic mathematical programming formulation and solution for computer-aided molecular design

This short communication presents a generic mathematical programming formulation for computer-aided molecular design (CAMD). A given CAMD problem, based on target properties, is formulated as a mixed integer linear/non-linear program (MILP/MINLP). The mathematical programming model presented here, which is formulated as an MILP/MINLP problem, considers first-order and second-order molecular groups for molecular structure representation and property estimation. It is shown that various CAMD problems can be formulated and solved through this model.     

基于梯度提升决策树的车轮轮缘厚度磨耗预测

轮对在列车走行过程中起着导向、承受以及传递载荷的作用，其踏面及轮缘磨耗对地铁列车运行安全性和钢轨的寿命都将产生重要影响。根据地铁列车车轮磨耗机理，分析车轮尺寸数据特点，针对轮缘厚度这一型面参数，基于梯度提升决策树算法构建轮缘厚度磨耗预测模型。在该模型的基础上，任意选取某轮对数据进行验证分析，结果表明：基于梯度提升决策树的轮对磨耗预测模型具有较好的预测精度，可预测出1~6个月的轮缘厚度变化趋势范围，预测时间范围较长，可为地铁维保部门对轮对的维修方式由状态修转为预防修提供指导性建议。     

Novel Bi-Doped Amorphous SnOx Nanoshells for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction into Formate at Low Overpotentials

Engineering novel Sn-based bimetallic materials could provide intriguing catalytic properties to boost the electrochemical CO₂ reduction. Herein, the first synthesis of homogeneous Sn_1−xBi_x alloy nanoparticles (x up to 0.20) with native Bi-doped amorphous SnO_x shells for efficient CO₂ reduction is reported. The Bi-SnO_x nanoshells boost the production of formate with high Faradaic efficiencies (>90%) over a wide potential window (−0.67 to −0.92 V vs RHE) with low overpotentials, outperforming current tin oxide catalysts. The state-of-the-art Bi-SnO_x nanoshells derived from Sn_0.80Bi_0.20 alloy nanoparticles exhibit a great partial current density of 74.6 mA cm⁻² and high Faradaic efficiency of 95.8%. The detailed electrocatalytic analyses and corresponding density functional theory calculations simultaneously reveal that the incorporation of Bi atoms into Sn species facilitates formate production by suppressing the formation of H₂ and CO.     

Achieving Rich and Active Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Heterostructures via Interface Engineering on 2D 1T‐MoS2 Quantum Sheets

Large‐scale production of hydrogen from water‐alkali electrolyzers is impeded by the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. The hybridization of an acid‐active HER catalyst with a cocatalyst at the nanoscale helps boost HER kinetics in alkaline media. Here, it is demonstrated that 1T–MoS₂ nanosheet edges (instead of basal planes) decorated by metal hydroxides form highly active ${\text{edge}}_{{\text{1T‐MoS}}_{\text{2}}}$/ ${\text{edge}}_{\text{Ni}{(\text{OH})}_{\text{2}}}$ heterostructures, which significantly enhance HER performance in alkaline media. Featured with rich ${\text{edge}}_{{\text{1T‐MoS}}_{\text{2}}}$/ ${\text{edge}}_{\text{Ni}{(\text{OH})}_{\text{2}}}$ sites, the fabricated 1T–MoS₂ QS/Ni(OH)₂ hybrid (quantum sized 1T–MoS₂ sheets decorated with Ni(OH)₂ via interface engineering) only requires overpotentials of 57 and 112 mV to drive HER current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm^?2, respectively, and has a low Tafel slope of 30 mV dec^?1 in 1 m KOH. So far, this is the best performance for MoS₂‐based electrocatalysts and the 1T–MoS₂ QS/Ni(OH)₂ hybrid is among the best‐performing non‐Pt alkaline HER electrocatalysts known. The HER process is durable for 100 h at current densities up to 500 mA cm^?2. This work not only provides an active, cost‐effective, and robust alkaline HER electrocatalyst, but also demonstrates a design strategy for preparing high‐performance catalysts based on edge‐rich 2D quantum sheets for other catalytic reactions.