水力空化改质对重质原油沥青质及性质的影响

利用水力空化过程产生局部的高温、高压、高射流以及强大的剪切力等极端化学物理条件改质处理沙特重质原油，试验结果表明：沙特重质原油经过水力空化改质后粘度由13.61降低至7.22mm2/s，残碳由7.16%降低至6.48%，实沸点蒸馏后减压渣油降低1个百分点。进一步采用APPI FT-IR MS、XRD、FT-IR、SEM和粒度分布等技术研究了水力空化改质对沙重原油分子组成，沥青质团聚体微晶结构、沥青质胶束粒径分布、沥青质官能团、沥青质形貌等方面的影响，从分子角度阐述空化改质重油的机理。研究结果表明：水力空化改质后沙重原油分子量分布、芳烃类化合物缔合作用变小；沥青质对低DBE化合物吸附性能降低；沥青质团聚体微晶结构更加松散；沥青质胶束粒度分布降低；沥青质分子相互团聚作用力减弱。进一步考察了水力空化改质前后减压渣油延迟焦化性能，改质处理后焦炭产率降低1.85个百分点，液体收率和气体产率分别增加1.52和0.33个百分点，水力空化改质对沥青质性质、结构特点的改善能够有效的提高其加工性能。     

有砟轨道路基翻浆冒泥模型试验系统的研发与应用

为研究既有线有砟轨道路基的翻浆冒泥机理，自主研发了一套能够模拟循环荷载–湿化耦合作用的模型试验系统。模型试样直径500 mm，由厚度分别为350 mm的路基土和200 mm的道砟组成，整个试样在高强度透明有机玻璃模型筒中制备完成。模型试验系统配备有监测荷载、位移、体积含水率和孔隙水压力的4种传感器，并通过高清相机对颗粒迁移过程进行图像捕捉。基于所研发的试验系统，针对辛泰铁路典型翻浆冒泥病害路段土样，开展翻浆冒泥模型试验。试验结果表明：动孔隙水压力是导致翻浆冒泥病害产生的关键因素。随着体积含水率的增加，动孔隙水压力引起的颗粒迁移量逐渐增加；在饱和状态下，会引起大量颗粒迁移，翻浆冒泥现象显著。试验结束时，道砟污染指数达到25%，在实际工程中已严重影响铁路的正常运营，有必要对污染道砟进行换填。     

基于GIS单线图的配网停电单模拟操作应用研究

配电网停电会造成电力系统供配电可靠性以及服务质量下降,研究基于地理信息系统(GIS)单线图的配网停电单模拟操作应用。利用网格长度作为基本单位建立坐标系,以选取起始点与终止点为基础,通过四参数法将GIS坐标映射至图纸网格内,实现配网内设备初步布局,将杆塔、站房和整体均匀分布作为优化目标,设置多目标优化目标函数实现GIS单线图最终优化。选取某电力公司配网作为单模拟操作应用对象,模拟结果表明,单模拟操作配网停电后,该配网各负荷点年故障率、次平均停电时间以及年停电时间均有所减少,可有效提升配网的供配电可靠性。     

Hepatitis B Virus-Like Particle: Targeted Delivery of Plasmid Expressing Short Hairpin RNA for Silencing the Bcl-2 Gene in Cervical Cancer Cells

Gene therapy research has advanced to clinical trials, but it is hampered by unstable nucleic acids packaged inside carriers and there is a lack of specificity towards targeted sites in the body. This study aims to address gene therapy limitations by encapsidating a plasmid synthesizing a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) that targets the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene using truncated hepatitis B core antigen (tHBcAg) virus-like particle (VLP). A shRNA sequence targeting anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 was synthesized and cloned into the pSilencer 2.0-U6 vector. The recombinant plasmid, namely PshRNA, was encapsidated inside tHBcAg VLP and conjugated with folic acid (FA) to produce FA-tHBcAg-PshRNA VLP. Electron microscopy revealed that the FA-tHBcAg-PshRNA VLP has an icosahedral structure that is similar to the unmodified tHBcAg VLP. Delivery of FA-tHBcAg-PshRNA VLP into HeLa cells overexpressing the folate receptor significantly downregulated the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 at 48 and 72 h post-transfection. The 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay demonstrated that the cells’ viability was significantly reduced from 89.46% at 24 h to 64.52% and 60.63%, respectively, at 48 and 72 h post-transfection. As a conclusion, tHBcAg VLP can be used as a carrier for a receptor-mediated targeted delivery of a therapeutic plasmid encoding shRNA for gene silencing in cancer cells.     

Single Cell Bioprinting with Ultrashort Laser Pulses

Tissue engineering requires the precise positioning of mammalian cells and biomaterials on substrate surfaces or in preprocessed scaffolds. Although the development of 2D and 3D bioprinting technologies has made substantial progress in recent years, precise, cell-friendly, easy to use, and fast technologies for selecting and positioning mammalian cells with single cell precision are still in need. A new laser-based bioprinting approach is therefore presented, which allows the selection of individual cells from complex cell mixtures based on morphology or fluorescence and their transfer onto a 2D target substrate or a preprocessed 3D scaffold with single cell precision and high cell viability (93–99% cell survival, depending on cell type and substrate). In addition to precise cell positioning, this approach can also be used for the generation of 3D structures by transferring and depositing multiple hydrogel droplets. By further automating and combining this approach with other 3D printing technologies, such as two-photon stereolithography, it has a high potential of becoming a fast and versatile technology for the 2D and 3D bioprinting of mammalian cells with single cell resolution.     

On the Catalytic Activity of Sn Monomers and Dimers at Graphene Edges and the Synchronized Edge Dependence of Diffusing Atoms in Sn Dimers

In this study, in situ transmission electron microscopy is performed to study the interaction between single (monomer) and paired (dimer) Sn atoms at graphene edges. The results reveal that a single Sn atom can catalyze both the growth and etching of graphene by the addition and removal of C atoms respectively. Additionally, the frequencies of the energetically favorable configurations of an Sn atom at a graphene edge, calculated using density functional theory calculations, are compared with experimental observations and are found to be in good agreement. The remarkable dynamic processes of binary atoms (dimers) are also investigated and is the first such study to the best of the knowledge. Dimer diffusion along the graphene edges depends on the graphene edge termination. Atom pairs (dimers) involving an armchair configuration tend to diffuse with a synchronized shuffling (step-wise shift) action, while dimer diffusion at zigzag edge terminations show a strong propensity to collapse the dimer with each atom diffusing in opposite directions (monomer formation). Moreover, the data reveals the role of C feedstock availability on the choice a single Sn atom makes in terms of graphene growth or etching. This study advances the understanding single atom catalytic activity at graphene edges.     

Optical properties of gadolinia-doped cubic yttria stabilized zirconia single crystals

Cubic zirconia single crystals stabilized with yttria and doped with Gd₂O₃ (0.10–5.00 mol%) were prepared by the optical floating zone method, and characterized by a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis), photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopic techniques. XRD and Raman spectroscopy showed that the crystal samples were all in the cubic phase, whereas the ceramic sample consisted of a mixture of monoclinic and cubic phases. The absorption spectrum showed four peaks at 245, 273, 308, and 314 nm in the ultraviolet region, and the optical band gap differed between samples with ≤3.00 mol% and those with >3.00 mol% Gd₂O₃. The emission spectrum showed a weak peak at 308 nm and a strong peak at 314 nm, which are attributed to the ⁶P_5/2 → ⁸S_7/2 and ⁶P_7/2 → ⁸S_7/2 transitions of Gd³⁺, respectively. The intensities of the peaks in the excitation and emission spectra increased with Gd³⁺ concentration, reached a maximum at 2.00 mol%, then decreased with higher concentrations. This quenching is considered to be the result of the electric dipole-dipole interactions, and this interpretation is supported by the Gd³⁺ EPR spectra, which showed progressive broadening with increasing Gd³⁺ concentration throughout the concentration range investigated.     

Effect of electric field intensity on domain kinetics of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.38PbTiO3 single crystal

As one of the outstanding piezoelectric materials, relaxor-PbTiO₃ single crystal also exhibits promising electro-optic and nonlinear-optic properties. Therefore, it is vital to understand the domain switching kinetics not only for optimizing strain-mediated devices performance but also for fabricating optical waveguides and periodic domain structures in optical applications. In this work, domain switching kinetics in annealed and pre-poled PMN-0.38PT single crystal under different external electric field were studied. Polarization reversal can be accomplished only by c-domain nucleation and growth in the annealed sample where the formation of the ferroelastic domains is hindered. In pre-poled sample, 90° domain switching happened by 90° domain wall reorientation under low electric field while 180° domain switching is accomplished by two-step 90° domain switching and c-domain growth under high electric field. The results are important for modulating domain structure for strain mediated and optical devices.     

退火温度对新型锆合金薄板带材析出相和织构的影响

采用扫描电镜和超高分辨透射电镜,对具有良好冲制性能的新型锆合金薄板成品带材进行含晶粒、第二相粒子等在内的显微组织研究,并探索真空退火处理条件下温度对带材显微组织的影响。结果显示:新型锆合金薄板成品带材晶粒平均尺寸2.17 μm,存在{0001}<1010>和{0001}<1120>两种织构,大部分晶粒<1120>平行带材RD方向,较少晶粒<1010>平行带材RD方向;第二相粒子分布在晶粒内部及晶界,平均尺寸114 nm,尺寸较大的为不规则椭圆形的Zr-Nb-Fe相,尺寸较小的为圆形的β-Nb相;热处理退火温度降低,带材晶粒尺寸减小,第二相粒子细小弥散分布;新型锆合金薄板成品带材良好冲制性能主要源于轧制积累应变诱发再结晶过程进行充分,导致晶粒细小及孪晶发生破碎;相对轧制变形,退火对带材冲制性能影响不显著。     

Passive target detection and tracking from electromagnetic field measurements

This paper presents a novel approach to the localization of moving targets in a complex environment based on the measurement of the perturbations induced by the target presence on an independently‐generated time‐varying electromagnetic field. Field perturbations are measured via a set of sensors deployed over the domain of interest and used to detect and track a possible target by resorting to a particle Bernoulli filter (PBF). To comply with real‐time operation, the PBF works along with an artificial neural network (ANN) model of the environment trained offline via finite elements (FEs). The performance of the proposed algorithm is assessed via simulation experiments.