The social profitability of rural roads in a small open economy: Do urban agglomeration economies matter?

The effects of a rural roads programme depend on labour mobility, how the programme is financed, and agglomeration economies. If financed by a rural poll tax and cross-price effects and agglomeration economies are sufficiently small, the wage will rise, with some return migration. Taxes on trade act as countervailing distortions, yielding urban households some relief. Rural-urban commuting promotes the exploitation of agglomeration economies; taxes on international trade are then inferior to a poll tax. The change in the value, at producer prices, of the rural sector's net supply vector can be a poor measure of the programme's social profitability.     

MHD mixed convection of a Cu–water nanofluid flow through a channel with an open trapezoidal cavity and an elliptical obstacle

In the current work, numerical simulations are achieved to study the properties and the characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer of (Cu–water) nanofluid under the magnetohydrodynamic effects in a horizontal rectangular canal with an open trapezoidal enclosure and an elliptical obstacle. The cavity lower wall is grooved and represents the heat source while the obstacle represents a stationary cold wall. On the other hand, the rest of the walls are considered adiabatic. The governing equations for this investigation are formulated, nondimensionalized, and then solved by Galerkin finite element approach. The numerical findings were examined across a wide range of Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 10), Reynolds number (1 ≤ Re ≤ 125), Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 100), and volume fraction of nanofluid (0 ≤ φ ≤ 0.05). The current study's findings demonstrate that the flow strength increases inversely as the Reynolds number rises, which pushes the isotherms down to the lower part of the trapezoidal cavity. The Nu_avg rises as the Ri rise, the maximum Nu_avg = 10.345 at Ri = 10, Re = 50, ϕ = 0.05, and Ha = 0; however, it reduces with increasing Hartmann number. Also, it increase by increasing ϕ, at Ri = 10, the Nu_avg increased by 8.44% when the volume fraction of nanofluid increased from (ϕ = 0–0.05).     

Crosstalk between MicroRNA and Oxidative Stress in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), a chronic neurodegenerative disease that damages the trabecular meshwork (TM) cells, inducing apoptosis of the retinal ganglion cells (RGC), deteriorating the optic nerve head, and leading to blindness. Aqueous humor (AH) outflow resistance and intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation contribute to disease progression. Nevertheless, despite the existence of pharmacological and surgical treatments, there is room for the development of additional treatment approaches. The following review is aimed at investigating the role of different microRNAs (miRNAs) in the expression of genes and proteins involved in the regulation of inflammatory and degenerative processes, focusing on the delicate balance of synthesis and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) regulated by chronic oxidative stress in POAG related tissues. The neutralizing activity of a couple of miRNAs was described, suggesting effective downregulation of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic signaling pathways, including nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB), transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-β2), Wnt/β-Catenin, and PI3K/AKT. In addition, with regards to the elevated IOP in many POAG patients due to increased outflow resistance, Collagen type I degradation was stimulated by some miRNAs and prevented ECM deposition in TM cells. Mitochondrial dysfunction as a consequence of oxidative stress was suppressed following exposure to different miRNAs. In contrast, increased oxidative damage by inhibiting the mTOR signaling pathway was described as part of the action of selected miRNAs. Summarizing, specific miRNAs may be promising therapeutic targets for lowering or preventing oxidative stress injury in POAG patients.     

Electrochemical Quantification of Neurotransmitters in Single Live Cell Vesicles Shows Exocytosis is Predominantly Partial

Exocytosis plays an essential role in the communication between cells in the nervous system. Understanding the regulation of neurotransmitter release during exocytosis and the amount of neurotransmitter content that is stored in vesicles is of importance, as it provides fundamental insights to understand how the brain works and how neurons elicit a certain behavior. In this minireview, we summarize recent progress in amperometric measurements for monitoring exocytosis in single cells and electrochemical cytometry measurements of vesicular neurotransmitter content in individual vesicles. Important steps have increased our understanding of the different mechanisms of exocytosis. Increasing evidence is firmly establishing that partial release is the primary mechanism of release in multiple cell types.     

User idea implementation in open innovation communities: Evidence from a new product development crowdsourcing community

In collaborative crowdsourcing communities for open innovation, users generate and submit ideas as idea co‐creators. Firms then select and implement valuable ideas for new product development. Despite the popularity and success of these open innovation communities, relatively little is known about the factors that determine the implementation of the user‐generated ideas. Based on research on individual creativity, we propose a conceptual model integrating users' previous experience, idea presentation characteristics and feedback valence to explain the likelihood of idea implementation. We validate our research model with a panel data analysis of 43 550 ideas submitted by 16 360 users in the MIUI new product development community hosted by Xiaomi, a large electronics manufacturing company in China. We find an inverted U‐shaped relationship between users' past successful experience and idea implementation. Furthermore, the length of ideas is positively associated with the likelihood of idea implementation. There is also an inverted U‐shaped relationship between supporting evidence and idea implementation. Finally, we demonstrate the negative effect of positive feedback and the positive effect of negative feedback on idea implementation. These findings offer rich insights to understand the phenomenon of open innovation better. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

南海北部陆坡天然气水合物成藏特征研究进展分析

南海北部陆坡区域构造地质控制着气源、流体疏导体系、富集空间及储层物性特征,因此,东沙海域、神狐海域、西沙海槽和琼东南盆地的水合物成藏条件及控制因素具有明显差异性。东沙海域深部气体可沿断层、裂缝、不整合面、砂岩疏导层和气烟囱等通道向上运移,并形成天然气水合物,具有渗漏型水合物产出特征;神狐海域水合物成藏与规模巨大的泥底辟活动相关,并与布莱克海台天然气水合物产出特征具有相似性;琼东南盆地中央坳陷带内为天然气水合物发育的重点区,底辟、泥火山或麻坑构造与天然气水合物发育密切相关。     

爆破振动在台阶边坡上的传播规律与预测分析

基于台阶地形模型爆破振动测试实验,研究爆破振动在台阶地形的传播规律及测点位置对爆破振动速度预测的影响规律。结果表明,爆破振动速度随着水平距离的增加总体呈衰减趋势,恒有垂直方向爆破振动速度远大于水平径向和水平切向,台阶边缘爆破振动速度存在局部放大现象;将台阶不同位置测点分成三类:Ⅰ类(包括全部测点)、Ⅱ类(包括水平地面测点、台阶中部、根部测点)、Ⅲ类(包括水平地面测点、台阶根部测点),分别应用萨道夫斯基公式和高程修正公式进行预测,发现高程修正公式的预测精度明显优于萨道夫斯基公式;Ⅲ类测点预测进度最优,Ⅱ类次之,Ⅰ类最差。建议进行边坡地形爆破振动速度预测时,只选取边坡台阶根部测点的振动速度进行预测分析。     

白鹤滩水电站左岸边坡稳定性分析

为研究缓倾角错动带及断层对白鹤滩水电站左岸顺层岩质高边坡稳定性的影响,以勘I5线地质剖面为例建立力学模型,借助综合法试验模拟岩体内主要地质构造及相关工程措施。在此基础上,再利用RFPA3D有限元数值模拟方法,分析岩体内裂隙萌生、发育、扩展直至贯通的损伤演化过程。结果表明,混凝土置换洞阻碍裂缝沿软弱面扩展成效显著,开挖后工程边坡安全系数为1.62;离心加载法得到的边坡潜在滑移面与物理模型试验得到的裂缝扩展模式基本一致,层内错动带LS337、层间错动带C3-1、断层f101、裂缝J110等软弱结构面共同控制岩体的开裂与边坡失稳。研究成果可为本工程边坡开挖与支护以及类似工程提供参考。     

石灰石矿山台阶边坡爆破振速安全阈值研究

爆破是矿山露采的必要手段,爆破振速安全阈值的确定对矿山台阶边坡的安全开采起着重要的作用。以四川兴联石灰石矿山台阶边坡为例,采用速度判别法,选取规范中的爆破振速安全阈值为拟静力法和动力显示分析法作参考;采用拟静力法,选取优势结构面作为潜在滑动面反演得到爆破振速安全阈值;采用ANSYS/LS-DYNA的动力显示分析法,建立台阶边坡模型,选取模拟监测点数据与实际监测数据进行对比,并结合质点振动速度与应力进行回归分析得到爆破振速安全阈值。通过对三种方法的对比研究得到,拟静力法与动力显示分析法得到的结果接近,且符合速度判别法中的规范。综合三种分析方法最终对台阶边坡爆破振速安全阈值进行合理取值。