Similar to concrete-filled tubular columns, void-filling of elliptical hollow sections (EHS) will produce increased strength, stiffness, energy absorption and fire resistance. Stub column tests on ...unfilled EHS were performed first. Discussions are made on the equivalent diameters in the literature for deriving the yield slenderness limit. An equivalent rectangular hollow sections (RHS) is proposed to derive such a limit for EHS sections in axial compression. An experimental investigation has also been carried out on the behaviour of concrete-filled EHS stub columns. Both normal concrete and self consolidating concrete (SCC) were used in the testing program. Different loading methods were investigated; e.g., loading through steel alone, loading through concrete alone and loading through the whole cross-section. This paper is based on experimental data on carbon steel EHS with an aspect ratio of 2, which is also the only product type currently produced. The load carrying capacity is compared with that predicted using EC4 and CAN/CSA-S16. Proposed design formulae are given.
Single magnetic atoms absorbed on an atomically thin layer represent the ultimate limit of bit miniaturization for data storage. To approach the limit, a critical step is to find an appropriate ...material system with high chemical stability and large magnetic anisotropic energy. Here, on the basis of first-principles calculations and the spin-orbit coupling theory, it is elucidated that the transition-metal Mn and Fe atoms absorbed on disulfur vacancies of MoS2 monolayers are very promising candidates. It is analysed that these absorption systems are of not only high chemical stabilities but also much enhanced magnetic anisotropies and particularly the easy magnetization axis is changed from the in-plane one for Mn to the out-of-plane one for Fe by a symmetry-lowering Jahn-Teller distortion. The results point out a promising direction to achieve the ultimate goal of single adatomic magnets with utilizing the defective atomically thin layers.
Context.
A link has finally been established between magnetars and fast radio burst (FRB) sources. Within this context, a major issue that remains unresolved pertains to whether sources of ...extragalactic FRBs exhibit X/
γ
-ray outbursts and whether this is correlated with radio activity. If so, the subsequent goal is to identify these sources.
Aims.
We aim to constrain possible X/
γ
-ray burst activity from one of the nearest extragalactic FRB sources currently known. This is to be done over a broad energy range by looking for bursts over a range of timescales and energies that are compatible with those of powerful flares from extragalactic magnetars.
Methods.
We followed up on the observation of the as-yet nearest extragalactic FRB source, located at a mere 149 Mpc distance, namely, the periodic repeater
FRB 180916.J0158+65
. This took place during the active phase between 4 and 7 February 2020, using the Insight–Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight–HXMT). By taking advantage of the combination of broad-band wavelengths, a large effective area, and several independent detectors at our disposal, we searched for bursts over a set of timescales from 1 ms to 1.024 s with a sensitive algorithm that had been previously characterised and optimised. Moreover, through simulations, we studied the sensitivity of our technique in the released energy-duration phase space for a set of synthetic flares and assuming a range of different energy spectra.
Results.
We constrain the possible occurrence of flares in the 1−100 keV energy band to
E
< 10
46
erg for durations Δ
t
< 0.1 s over several tens of ks exposure.
Conclusions.
We can rule out the occurrence of giant flares similar to the ones that were observed in the few cases of Galactic magnetars. The absence of reported radio activity during our observations prevents us from making any determinations regarding the possibility of simultaneous high-energy emission.
Landscape fragmentation and habitat loss are one of the important factors resulting in biodiversity decrease and species extinction. A large amount of Eucalyptus have been introduced into Yunnan ...Province in China since 2003, replaced the native forest, farmland, wasteland and other ecosystems, leading to natural habitat loss and landscape fragmentation. In order to protect habitat and the biodiversity, the secondary evergreen broad-leaved forest were selected as “protection source”, land cover types, altitude, slope and soil texture were selected as resistance factors, to construct a medium-security and high-security level landscape eco-security patterns for Eucalyptus introduction regions by using the minimum cumulative resistance model and GIS technology. The patterns were composed of the eco-security pattern compositions and ecological function zones. The eco-security pattern compositions were composed of corridor, radiating routes and strategic point etc. The ecological function zones were composed of key eco-protection zone, eco-buffer zone, eco-transition zone, Eucalyptus planting zone, Eucalyptus banned zones, farming zone, living zone etc.
Although metal matrix composites (MMCs) possess high mechanical properties for wide potential applications, there are limited kinds of ex-situ MMCs fabricated via selective laser melting (SLM) until ...now. In this study, TiN/AISI 420 stainless steel (SS) MMCs samples were fabricated by SLM. Densification behavior, microstructure, hardness and wear performance were investigated with different TiN contents and laser powers. It was found that the addition of TiN has a strong influence on density, which was mainly attributed to its impact on laser absorptivity of powder and wettability of liquid metal. With a higher laser power, the diffusion behavior of TiN became stronger and the densification of composites was improved with a maximum relative density of 98.2%. Both of the distribution and solid-solution of TiN particles were investigated by SEM, XRD and EDS results. The optimized composites achieved a high hardness of HRC 56.7, which is 11.8% higher than that of SLMed pure AISI 420 SS. The wear performance was enhanced due to the improved hardness and TiN reinforcement particle.
Nitrate is often found to be associated with atmospheric particles. Surface nitrate can change the hygroscopicity of these particles, and thus impact their chemical reactivity. However, the influence ...of nitrate on heterogeneous reactions of atmospheric trace gases is poorly understood. In this work, the effects of nitrate on heterogeneous conversion of SO2 with hematite at 298 K are investigated using an in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and a White cell coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (White cell-FTIR). It is found that nitrate participates in heterogeneous reactions of SO2, accelerates the formation rate of sulfate, and leads to the formation of surface-adsorbed HNO3 and gas-phase N2O and HONO. The results indicate that low to moderate amounts of nitrate significantly enhance the reactivity of hematite–nitrate mixtures, the uptake of SO2, and the formation of sulfate on hematite. For mixtures, the sample containing 24% nitrate exhibits the highest sulfate formation rate, and its corresponding uptake coefficient calculated by geometric surface area is about 5.5 times higher than that of hematite alone. The sample containing 48% nitrate presents the highest Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) uptake coefficient, and the value is about 8 times higher than that of pure hematite. No uptake of SO2 and formation of sulfate are observed on pure nitrate. Evidence presented herein implies a significant contribution of the unreleased HNO3 and HONO in the particles for the conversion of SO2 and the enhanced formation of sulfate in the atmosphere. A possible mechanism for the influence of nitrate on the heterogeneous conversion of SO2 on hematite is proposed, and atmospheric implications based on these results are discussed.
Deregulation of the translational machinery is emerging as a critical contributor to cancer development. The contribution of microRNAs in translational gene control has been established however; the ...role of microRNAs in disrupting the cap-dependent translation regulation complex has not been previously described. Here, we established that elevated miR-520c-3p represses global translation, cell proliferation and initiates premature senescence in HeLa and DLBCL cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that miR-520c-3p directly targets translation initiation factor, eIF4GII mRNA and negatively regulates eIF4GII protein synthesis. miR-520c-3p overexpression diminishes cells colony formation and reduces tumor growth in a human xenograft mouse model. Consequently, downregulation of eIF4GII by siRNA decreases translation, cell proliferation and ability to form colonies, as well as induces cellular senescence. In vitro and in vivo findings were further validated in patient samples; DLBCL primary cells demonstrated low miR-520c-3p levels with reciprocally up-regulated eIF4GII protein expression. Our results provide evidence that the tumor suppressor effect of miR-520c-3p is mediated through repression of translation while inducing senescence and that eIF4GII is a key effector of this anti-tumor activity.
In this study, the clinical outcomes of horizontal ridge augmentation using half-columnar bone grafts from the ramus (group I: 27 patients, 32 implants) versus rectangular bone grafts from the ...symphysis (group II: 19 patients, 27 implants) were compared; grafts were combined with organic bovine bone and collagen membrane. Cone beam computed tomography images were obtained preoperatively, immediately after restoration (baseline), and 1 year after loading. Four months after grafting, horizontal bone resorption at the alveolar crest did not differ significantly between the two groups (P=0.291). At 4mm apical to the alveolar crest, horizontal bone resorption in group I was significantly less than that in group II (P=0.041). One year after loading, horizontal bone resorption in group I was lower than that in group II, with no significant difference. The residual thickness of the labial bone at the implant site in group I was significantly higher than that in group II. Horizontal ridge augmentation with either a half-columnar autogenous graft from the ramus or a rectangular autogenous graft from the symphysis can provide acceptable results in aesthetic regions. The half-columnar group demonstrated better graft stability both at 4 months after augmentation and 1 year after loading.