Study of blister formation in GRP laminates in water

Glass fibre reinforced polyesters (GRP) are widely used in boat and swimming pool manufacture. One drawback for these materials is that they may develop blistering after prolonged and continuous contact with water. The aim of the research programme reported in this thesis is to understand the fundamental reasons for the blister formation, as well as the factors affecting it. Various polyester resins, epoxy resin, vinyl ester resin, different chopped strand glass mats (CSM) and initiators were used for GRP laminates and blister trials carried out. Blisters were examined visually and by an optical microscope; they are classified into four groups according to their origins: (1) contaminants, (2) bubbles, (3) pre-cracks, (4) glass fibre bundles. Detailed study of their relative importance shows that the last two categories are most significant. [Continues.

Study on a Strong Polymer Gel by the Addition of Micron Graphite Oxide Powder and Its Plugging of Fracture

It is difficult to plug the fracture water channeling of a fractured low-permeability reservoir during water flooding by using the conventional acrylamide polymer gel due to its weak mechanical properties. For this problem, micron graphite powder is added to enhance the comprehensive properties of the acrylamide polymer gel, which can improve the plugging effect of fracture water channeling. The chemical principle of this process is that the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups of the layered micron graphite powder can undergo physicochemical interactions with the amide groups of the polyacrylamide molecule chain. As a rigid structure, the graphite powder can support the flexible skeleton of the original polyacrylamide molecule chain. Through the synergy of the rigid and flexible structures, the viscoelasticity, thermal stability, tensile performance, and plugging ability of the new-type gel can be significantly enhanced. Compared with a single acrylamide gel, after adding 3000 mg/L of micrometer-sized graphite powder, the elastic modulus, the viscous modulus, the phase transition temperature, the breakthrough pressure gradient, the elongation at break, and the tensile stress of the acrylamide gel are all greatly improved. After adding the graphite powder to the polyacrylamide gel, the fracture water channeling can be effectively plugged. The characteristics of the networked water flow channel are obvious during the injected water break through the gel in the fracture. The breakthrough pressure of water flooding is high. The experimental results are an attempt to develop a new gel material for the water plugging of a fractured low-permeability reservoir

R3D-SWIN:Use Shifted Window Attention for Single-View 3D Reconstruction

Recently, vision transformers have performed well in various computer vision tasks, including voxel 3D reconstruction. However, the windows of the vision transformer are not multi-scale, and there is no connection between the windows, which limits the accuracy of voxel 3D reconstruction. Therefore, we propose a voxel 3D reconstruction network based on shifted window attention. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to apply shifted window attention to voxel 3D reconstruction. Experimental results on ShapeNet verify our method achieves SOTA accuracy in single-view reconstruction.Comment: being consider to patter recognition letter

Carbonaceous matter in the atmosphere and glaciers of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau: An investigative review

Carbonaceous matter, including organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC), is an important climate forcing agent and contributes to glacier retreat in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau (HTP). The HTP – the so-called “Third Pole” – contains the most extensive glacial area outside of the polar regions. Considerable research on carbonaceous matter in the HTP has been conducted, although this research has been challenging due to the complex terrain and strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of carbonaceous matter in the HTP. A comprehensive investigation of published atmospheric and snow data for HTP carbonaceous matter concentration, deposition and light absorption is presented, including how these factors vary with time and other parameters. Carbonaceous matter concentrations in the atmosphere and glaciers of the HTP are found to be low. Analysis of water-insoluable organic carbon and BC from snowpits reveals that concentrations of OC and BC in the atmosphere and glacier samples in arid regions of the HTP may be overestimated due to contributions from inorganic carbon in mineral dust. Due to the remote nature of the HTP, carbonaceous matter found in the HTP has generally been transported from outside the HTP (e.g., South Asia), although local HTP emissions may also be important at some sites. This review provides essential data and a synthesis of current thinking for studies on atmospheric transport modeling and radiative forcing of carbonaceous matter in the HTP

Case report: A longitudinal study of an unusual rapidly progressive dementia case

It is daunting to determine the etiology of rapidly progressive dementia (RPD), which includes metabolic, neoplastic, infectious, autoimmune, neurodegenerative and other conditions. Herein, we illustrate an unusual case of a patient primarily exhibiting RPD, overlapping sleep dysfunction, psychosis and abnormal movement, which was finally defined as anti-IgLON5 disease, a novel and rare autoimmune encephalopathy. Furthermore, we longitudinally described his cognitive and psychological performance in detail, and determined that early initiation of immunotherapy in this patient did not result in a good outcome. These data highlight anti-IgLON5 disease as a possible differential diagnosis in patients with RPD

Recombination-mediated escape from primary CD8+ T cells in acute HIV-1 infection

Abstract Background A major immune evasion mechanism of HIV-1 is the accumulation of non-synonymous mutations in and around T cell epitopes, resulting in loss of T cell recognition and virus escape. Results Here we analyze primary CD8+ T cell responses and virus escape in a HLA B*81 expressing subject who was infected with two T/F viruses from a single donor. In addition to classic escape through non-synonymous mutation/s, we also observed rapid selection of multiple recombinant viruses that conferred escape from T cells specific for two epitopes in Nef. Conclusions Our study shows that recombination between multiple T/F viruses provide greater options for acute escape from CD8+ T cell responses than seen in cases of single T/F virus infection. This process may contribute to the rapid disease progression in patients infected by multiple T/F viruses

Inducible T-Cell Co-Stimulator Impacts Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease by Regulating Both Pathogenic and Regulatory T Cells

The incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is on the rise and still the major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). Both donor T and B cells contribute to the pathogenesis of cGVHD. Inducible T-cell co-stimulator (ICOS), a potent co-stimulatory receptor, plays a key role in T-cell activation and differentiation. Yet, how ICOS regulates the development of cGVHD is not well understood. Here, we investigated the role of ICOS in cGVHD pathogenesis using mice with germline or regulatory T cell (Treg)-specific ICOS deficiency. The recipients of ICOS−/− donor grafts had reduced cGVHD compared with wild-type controls. In recipients of ICOS−/− donor grafts, we observed significant reductions in donor T follicular helper (Tfh), Th17, germinal center B-cell, and plasma cell differentiation, coupled with lower antibody production. Interestingly, Tregs, including follicular regulatory T (Tfr) cells, were also impaired in the absence of ICOS. Using ICOS conditional knockout specific for Foxp3+ cells, we found that ICOS was indispensable for optimal survival and homeostasis of induced Tregs during cGVHD. Furthermore, administration of anti-ICOS alleviated cGVHD severity via suppressing T effector cells without affecting Treg generation. Taken together, ICOS promotes T- and B-cell activation and differentiation, which can promote cGVHD development; however, ICOS is critical for the survival and homeostasis of iTregs, which can suppress cGVHD. Hence, ICOS balances the development of cGVHD and could offer a potential target after allo-HCT in the clinic

Gonadal hormones and metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and elderly males: results from a prospective cohort study in China

BackgroundResearch has shown that gonadal hormones are involved in metabolic pathways relevant to metabolic syndrome (MetS). Nevertheless, no longitudinal study has been conducted on the association between SHBG and MetS in Chinese. The objective of our study was to determine whether there is any association between middle-aged and elderly males in China.MethodsA total of 531 eligible male subjects, aged above 40 years or older, without MetS at baseline, were recruited. Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), total testosterone (TT), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured. A harmonized definition and recommended thresholds for the Chinese population were used to determine metabolic syndrome.ResultsDuring 3.2 years of follow-up, 20.7% of subjects had developed MetS. Compared with the non-MetS group, subjects in the new-onset MetS group had significantly lower SHBG (43.5 nmol/L [28.8, 74.9] vs 53.7nmol/L [33.8, 115.0], P=0.0018), TT (18.1nmol/L [13.6–21.7] vs 19.5nmol/L[15.0–23.6], P=0.0204), and LH (5.13mIU/L [3.63–7.29] vs 5.87mIU/L [4.05–8.36]) at baseline. The incidence of MetS was decreased according to elevated SHBG quartiles (Q1:26.9%, Q2:22.7%, Q3:21.1%, Q4:12.1%, P for trend =0.0035), TT (Q1: 25.2%, Q2:23.7%, Q3: 17.3%, Q4: 16.7%, P for trend=0.0425), and LH (Q1:25.0%, Q2:21.8%, Q3: 21.8%, Q4: 14.3%, P for trend=0.0411). Compared with those in quartile 4, the OR[CI] of incident MetS for participants in Quartile 1 was 2.33[1.13–4.79] after multiple adjustments. But associations between incident MetS and different quartiles of LH, TT, and FSH were not observed after multiple adjustments. In the subgroup analyses, the significant association between SHBG level and Mets was detected in subjects over 60 years or older, with normal BMI, without insulin resistance, and with eGFR ≥90 mL/min per 1.73m2.ConclusionCompared with TT, LH, and FSH, a lower level of SHBG is significantly related to the incidence of MetS among middle-aged and elderly males in China