An implementation of no-slip boundary conditions in DPD

We report an implementation of the no-slip boundary condition in the modeling of solid boundaries by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method. Stimulated by a model for several types of solid boundaries, we develop an implementation that satisfies no-slip boundary condition with practically no-density distortion near the boundaries. The model is implemented to simulate the planar Poiseuille and Couette flows, as well as the flow through a contraction and diffusion channel. Results compare excellently with the previous methods.     

Direct effect of endotoxin on the gastric mucosal microcirculation and electrical gradient

The effects of intra-arterial infusion of E. coli endotoxin at 1.0 mg. per minute on the gastric total and mucosal blood flows, electrical potential difference, and ionic fluxes across the gastric mucosa were studied in an exteriorized, chambered preparation of canine fundic stomach. Gamma-labelled microsphere technique was used in addition to venous drainage and plasma aminopyrine clearance for the measurement of total and mucosal blood flow, respectively. In spite of normal systemic blood pressure throughout the experiment, E. coli endotoxin infusion caused a significant decrease in total gastric blood flow and in the fractional distribution of flow to the mucosae. There was no significant arteriovenous shunting of microspheres. Significant reduction in potential difference and hydrogen-ion back diffusion also was noted after endotoxin infusion, possibly as a consequence of reduced mucosal blood flow. The results indicate that significant gastric mucosal ischemia can occur and may represent a mechanism in the development of gastric erosions in endotoxemia, even in the absence of systemic hypotension.     

La(Ni,Sn)5+x (x=0～0.35)贮氢合金的晶体结构与电化学性能

系统研究了La(Ni,Sn)_5+x（x=0~0.35) 无Co贮氢合金的化学计量比对其晶体结构及电化学性能的影响.X射线衍射分析仪（XRD）分析表明，上述合金均为单相CaCu₅结构.但在过计量比(x>0)合金的结构中，有部分1a位置元素（La）的原子被沿c轴定向排列的Ni-Ni“哑铃”对所替代，且其替代La原子的分数随x的增大而增多，从而导致合金晶胞的c轴及c/a比值明显增大，晶胞体积有所减小，并显著降低了合金的吸氢体积膨胀率.电化学测试表明，增大x值可使合金的循环稳定性得到显著提高，但也使合金的最大放电容量和高倍率放电性能有所降低.研究发现，由于合金的化学计量比增大会使其结构中含有较多的Ni-Ni“哑铃”对，合金的抗吸氢粉化能力得到了明显的改善，从而使合金在充放电过程中的反应比表面积有所减小、腐蚀速率得到抑制、循环稳定性得到显著提高.但合金反应比表面积的减小也导致了电极反应的速率的减小，从而使其高倍率放电性能有所降低.     

Assessment of different machine learning techniques in predicting the compressive strength of self-compacting concrete

The compressive strength of self-compacting concrete (SCC) needs to be determined during the construction design process. This paper shows that the compressive strength of SCC (CS of SCC) can be successfully predicted from mix design and curing age by a machine learning (ML) technique named the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) algorithm, including non-hybrid and hybrid models. Nine ML techniques, such as Linear regression (LR), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Trees (DTR), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB), and Artificial Neural Network using two training algorithms LBFGS and SGD (denoted as ANN_LBFGS and ANN_SGD), are also compared with the XGB model. Moreover, the hybrid models of eight ML techniques and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) are constructed to highlight the reliability and accuracy of SCC compressive strength prediction by the XGB_PSO hybrid model. The highest number of SCC samples available in the literature is collected for building the ML techniques. Compared with previously published works’ performance, the proposed XGB method, both hybrid and non-hybrid models, is the most reliable and robust of the examined techniques, and is more accurate than existing ML methods (R² = 0.9644, RMSE = 4.7801, and MAE = 3.4832). Therefore, the XGB model can be used as a practical tool for engineers in predicting the CS of SCC.     

Erase voltage impact on 0.18μm triple self-aligned split-gate flash memory endurance

The erase voltage impact on the 0.18μm triple self-aligned split-gate flash endurance is studied.An optimized erase voltage is necessary in order to achieve the best endurance.A lower erase voltage can cause more cell current degradation by increasing its sensitivity to the floating gate voltage drop,which is induced by tunnel oxide charge trapping during program/erase cycling.A higher erase voltage also aggravates the endurance degradation by introducing select gate oxide charge trapping.A progressive erase voltage method is proposed and demonstrated to better balance the two degradation mechanisms and thus further improve endurance performance.     

Ozonation of complex industrial park wastewater: effects on the change of wastewater characteristics

BACKGROUND: Ozonation of complex industrial park wastewater was carried out in a semi‐batch reactor. The variation of wastewater characteristics was evaluated based on the analysis of 5‐day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) concentration, BOD₅/chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratio, COD fractionation, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) molecular size distribution before and after ozonation. RESULTS: The experimental results indicated that low efficiency of COD removal with increasing tendency of BOD₅ concentration generally appeared after ozonation. Also, the BOD₅/COD ratio increased from an initial of 0.27 to a maximum of 0.38. The COD fractionation tests revealed that most of the inert soluble COD was transformed to biodegradable soluble COD at 30 min of reaction time. Additionally, the DOC molecular size distribution tests showed that the fraction larger than 500 kDa was significantly decreased and the fraction smaller than 2 kDa was increased when the reaction time was prolonged to 240 min. CONCLUSION: This study verified that partial oxidation of the complex industrial park wastewater by ozonation could enhance wastewater biodegradability. The biodegradability enhancement was primarily because the inert soluble COD fraction was converted to the biodegradable soluble COD and the high molecular weight fraction of DOC was shifted toward the low molecular weight fraction. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Termination of translation in eukaryotes: new results and new hypotheses

The viscoelastic properties of the human and canine pharyngeal tissue in tension were evaluated, based on both an experimental protocol-consisting of cyclic load, tensile stress relaxation, and incremental step load tests-and the quasi-linear viscoelastic theory. The reduced stress relaxation function and the elastic response of the pharyngeal tissues were derived from the experimental results specifically obtained from those tissues. The characteristic features of viscoelastic property were obtained for both human and canine pharyngeal tissues by applying the quasi-linear viscoelastic theory and compared with each other. The material properties of the pharyngeal tissue were sought to facilitate the three-dimensional biomechanical model of the pharyngeal function by using the finite element method.     

G-protein signaling: fine-tuning signaling kinetics

Mammalian 'regulators of G protein signaling' (RGS proteins) help shut off G-protein-mediated signaling by GTPase activation. But new evidence shows that RGS proteins can also speed up the activation of signaling. The combined effect is a change in signaling kinetics without a decrease in signaling intensity.