Morphology,adipocyte size,and fatty acid analysis of dairy cattle digital cushions,and the effect of body condition score and age

The digital cushion is an essential part of maintaining a healthy foot, working to dissipate foot strike and body weight forces and lameness from claw horn disruption lesions. Despite the importance of the digital cushion, little is known about the basic anatomy, adipocyte morphology, and fatty acid composition in relation to age, limb position, and body condition score. In total, 60 claws (from 17 cows) were selected and collected from a herd, ensuring that body condition score data and computed micro-tomography were known for each animal. Digital cushion tissue underwent histological staining combined with stereology, systematic random sampling, and cell morphology analysis, in addition to lipid extraction followed by fatty acid analysis. The results describe digital cushion architecture and adipocyte sizes. Adipocyte size was similar across all 4 claws (distal left lateral and medial and distal right lateral and medial) and across the ages (aged 2–7 yr); however, animals with body condition score of 3.00 or more at slaughter had a significantly increased cell size in comparison to those with a score of less than 2.50. Of 37 fatty acid methyl esters identified, 5 differed between either the body condition score or different age groups. C10:0 capric acid, C14:0 myristic acid, C15:0 pentadecanoic acid, and C20:0 arachidic acid percentages were all lesser in lower body condition score cows, whereas C22:1n-9 erucic acid measurements were lesser in younger cows. Saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid percentages were not altered in the different claws, ages, or body condition score groups. Triglyceride quantities did not differ for claw position or age but had decreased quantities in lower body condition score animals. Digital cushion anatomy, cellular morphology, and fatty acid composition have been described in general and also in animals with differing ages, body condition scores, and in the differing claws. Understanding fat deposition, mobilization, and composition are essential in not only understanding the roles that the digital cushion plays but also in preventing disorders and maintaining cattle health and welfare.     

地下输水隧洞围岩稳定监测系统设计研究

在地下隧洞施工输水整个环节中,施工环境复杂多变。由于地质岩体结构应力、地下水以及岩体力学构造等各方面的不确定、不稳定因素的影响极大,如果仅依靠传统经验来进行管理,已经不符合现代化管理的最基本要求,也无法达到标准化管理。文章首先阐述了地下输水隧洞围岩稳定监测系统设计的目的,然后对设计输水隧洞围岩稳定监测系统进行了分析,以便及时正确掌控地下输水的隧洞围岩发展状态,保证隧洞施工的顺利完成。     

Effect of boron on the hydrogen-induced grain boundary embrittlement in α-Fe

The influence of interstitial impurities such as B and C on the H-induced Fe Σ5(310) symmetrical tilt grain boundary embrittlement was investigated using the projector augmented-wave method. It was shown that in contrast to hydrogen, both boron and carbon decrease the grain boundary energy more significantly than the surface one. This results in an increase in the Griffith work, i.e. the grain boundary strengthening. The strengthening of grain boundary is more pronounced with increased number of B atoms whereas the increase of H concentration makes the process of intergranular brittle cleavage fracture easier. The grain boundary energy is lowered with an increased number of B atoms indicating a strong driving force for segregation. Our estimations of the Griffith work for the Fe Σ5(310) grain boundary containing both B and H atoms show an increase in comparison with the undoped grain boundary. It is revealed that improved cohesion of Fe Σ5(310) grain boundary due to B is mainly a chemical effect, whereas both elastic and chemical contributions to the Griffith work in case of H are negative, i.e. they are embrittling contributions.     

Creep testing of carbon containing refractories under reducing conditions

Mechanical testing of carbon containing refractories at high temperatures requires measures to protect the sample from oxidation. Therefore, special setups for tensile and compressive creep testing were developed to prevent the oxidation of carbon in the sample. A MgO-C refractory was selected for a case study. These developments allow the quantification of the tensile and compressive creep behaviour of MgO-C refractories at temperatures up to 1500?°C. The creep parameters are determined by an inverse evaluation method for the obtained experimental data. They enable the consideration of creep in a thermomechanical finite element simulation of refractory linings in service.     

基于变效率压气机的AA-CAES变工况性能分析

先进绝热压缩空气储能系统(advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage system,AA-CAES)是一种清洁、环保的大规模储能技术,能够为可再生能源并网及电网调峰提供新的解决方案。为了深入研究压气机模型对变工况下AA-CAES系统运行性能的影响,本文在传统模型的基础上添加了压气机效率模型。求解系统模型发现:相对于储气室最高压比,换热器效能对储能效率的影响较大,换热器效能每提高0.05,储能效率平均提高2.9%;随着储气室最高压比的上升,储能密度近似呈线性增加;AA-CAES系统在储能阶段,稳定运行的前两级压气机功率保持不变,非稳定运行的第3级压气机功率随储气室压比的升高而逐渐增大,储能阶段结束时第3级压气机耗功最多。     

辐照条件下SiC晶界导热性能的分子动力学分析

SiC材料由于具有优良的物理化学性质而在工程领域得到广泛应用。但在辐照条件下,Frenkel缺陷势必影响材料的宏观性质。尤其在核能工程领域,辐照无法避免,而传热性质是材料的关键性质之一。本文采用分子动力学方法模拟了SiC材料晶界导热性质在辐照缺陷存在条件下的变化规律。研究结果表明,晶界扭转角度越大,界面能也越大,并且界面热阻大致与界面能呈正比关系。辐照缺陷的存在使界面热阻增加了一个数量级。声子态密度分析结果表明,界面附近原子晶格失配程度增加是导致辐照后界面热阻进一步增加的原因。     

Improvement of the production of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) terpolyester by manipulating the culture condition

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work is to enhance the production of terpolyester poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB)) produced by a locally isolated bacterium, Cupriavidus sp. USMAA2‐4. The monomer composition was varied by supplementing different carbon precursors and by manipulating the culture condition through one‐stage cultivation. The effect of C/N ratio and different concentrations of carbon source and precursors were investigated in order to produce higher content of this terpolyester. Although research on this biodegradable polyester is abundant, studies on terpolyester P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) are still limited. RESULTS: Supplementation of oleic acid in accumulation medium increased the bacterial growth and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation. It was also shown that medium consisting of assorted carbon precursors at C/N 20 gave relatively high dry cell weight and P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) content. Various compositions of terpolyester were obtained when the concentration of oleic acid and 4HB precursors were manipulated. The combination of oleic acid with γ‐butyrolactone and 1‐pentanol was found to be the best combination to produce high PHA content (81 wt%). The composition of monomer in P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) was produced in the range 8–13 mol% for 3HV and 9–24 mol% for 4HB, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The production of P(3HB‐co‐3HV‐co‐4HB) in shake‐flasks successfully produced 81 wt% of PHA content. This manipulated culture condition can be used at larger scale to provide modeling for the production of terpolyester in a bioreactor. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

The role of complexions in metallic nano-grain stability and deformation

Nanocrystalline metals have excellent strength due to the high density of grain boundaries inside. However, these same boundaries lead to limited thermal stability and a tendency to fail in a brittle manner, issues which limit the practical usage of these materials. Most strategies for stabilization of nano-grains against coarsening rely on the idea of using segregating dopants to lower excess boundary energy. The theory of interface complexions is a useful tool for describing the thermodynamics behind segregation as well as identifying distinct segregation patterns. Some of these same complexions can also dramatically alter mechanical behavior. Unlike past strategies, which always result in a trade-off between strength and ductility, the addition of complexions can potentially increase ductility while retaining or even increasing strength. In this paper, we discuss how complexions offer a unique opportunity to address these limitations simultaneously. In addition to reviewing the current-state-of-the-art, important areas where innovation is needed are also identified.     

A Gaussian RBFs method with regularization for the numerical solution of inverse heat conduction problems

In this paper, a recursion numerical technique is considered to solve the inverse heat conduction problems, with an unknown time-dependent heat source and the Neumann boundary conditions. The numerical solutions of the heat diffusion equations are constructed using the Gaussian radial basis functions. The details of algorithms in the one-dimensional and two-dimensional cases, involving the global or partial initial conditions, are proposed, respectively. The Tikhonov regularization method, with the generalized cross-validation criterion, is used to obtain more stable numerical results, since the linear systems are badly ill-conditioned. Moreover, we propose some results of the condition number estimates to a class of positive define matrices constructed by the Gaussian radial basis functions. Some numerical experiments are given to show that the presented schemes are favourably accurate and effective.     

The importance of grain boundary complexions in affecting physical properties of polycrystals

In recent decades researchers have revealed a rich variety of grain boundary segregation phenomena, including interfacial phase, or complexion, transitions. Grain boundary complexion transitions have been shown to induce discontinuous changes in materials properties as a function of temperature and chemical potential, and have been used to explain phenomena that had previously evaded satisfactory explanation. This review article discusses how grain boundary complexions relate to mass transport and mechanical properties, by highlighting both what is understood and emphasizing topics requiring additional study.