Weight function for the quantum affine algebra Uq(sl^3)U_q(\hat{sl}_3)

We give a precise expression for the universal weight function of the quantum affine algebra $U_q(\hat{sl}_3)$. The calculations use the technique of projecting products of Drinfeld currents on the intersections of Borel subalgebras.Comment: 28 page

Internal stress wave measurements in solids subjected to lithotripter pulses

Semiconductor strain gauges were used to measure the internal strain along the axes of spherical and disk plaster specimens when subjected to lithotripter shock pulses. The pulses were produced by one of two lithotripters. The first source generates spherically diverging shock waves of peak pressure approximately 1 MPa at the surface of the specimen. For this source, the incident and first reflected pressure (P) waves in both sphere and disk specimens were identified. In addition, waves reflected by the disk circumference were found to contribute significantly to the strain fields along the disk axis. Experimental results compared favorably to a ray theory analysis of a spherically diverging shock wave striking either concretion. For the sphere, pressure contours for the incident P wave and caustic lines were determined theoretically for an incident spherical shock wave. These caustic lines indicate the location of the highest stresses within the sphere and therefore the areas where damage may occur. Results were also presented for a second source that uses an ellipsoidal reflector to generate a 30-MPa focused shock wave, more closely approximating the wave fields of a clinical extracorporeal lithotripter

On design of robust fault detection filter in finite-frequency domain with regional pole assignment

This brief is concerned with the fault detection (FD) filter design problem for an uncertain linear discrete-time system in the finite-frequency domain with regional pole assignment. An optimized FD filter is designed such that: 1) the FD dynamics is quadratically D-stable; 2) the effect from the exogenous disturbance on the residual is attenuated with respect to a minimized H∞-norm; and 3) the sensitivity of the residual to the fault is enhanced by means of a maximized H--norm. With the aid of the generalized Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov lemma, the mixed H--/H∞ performance and the D-stability requirement are guaranteed by solving a convex optimization problem. An iterative algorithm for designing the desired FD filter is proposed by evaluating the threshold on the generated residual function. A simulation result is exploited to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design technique.This work was supported in part by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia under Grant 16-135- 35-HiCi, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61134009 and 61203139, the Royal Society of the U.K., and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Recovery of Listonella anguillarum from Diseased Pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) in China

In May 2016, there was a disease outbreak among pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) in a marine farm in Tianjin municipality, with the cumulative mortality rate reaching 45% within 7 days from the beginning of the outbreak. The main symptoms of the disease were abdominal and anal swelling of the diseased fish. Significant damage was also observed histopathologically in the intestine, liver, and kidney. The strain H008 was isolated from diseased kidneys, and the challenge test revealed that the same disease was diagnosed in pufferfish which suffered similarly high mortality rates. Using physiological biochemical tests combined with 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the strain was identified as Listonella anguillarum. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that H008 was resistant to 10 of 15 antimicrobial agents tested. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of L. anguillarum causing disease in pufferfish

Modeling of Thermal Performance of Multiphase Nuclear Fuel Cell Under Variable Gravity Conditions

A unique numerical method has been developed to model the dynamic processes of bulk evaporation and condensation processes, associated with internal heat generation and natural convection under different gravity levels. The internal energy formulation, for the bulk liquid-vapor phase change problems in an encapsulated container, was employed. The equations, governing the conservation of mass, momentum and energy for both phases involved in phase change, were solved. The thermal performance of a multiphase uranium tetra-fluoride fuel element under zero gravity, micro-gravity and normal gravity conditions has been investigated. The modeling yielded results including the evolution of the bulk liquid-vapor phase change process, the evolution of the liquid-vapor interface, the formation and development of the liquid film covering the side wall surface, the temperature distribution and the convection flow field in the fuel element. The strong dependence of the thermal performance of such multiphase nuclear fuel cell on the gravity condition has been revealed. Under all three gravity conditions, 0-g, 10(exp -3)-g, and 1-g, the liquid film is formed and covers the entire side wall. The liquid film covering the side wall is more isothermalized at the wall surface, which can prevent the side wall from being over-heated. As the gravity increases, the liquid film is thinner, the temperature gradient is larger across the liquid film and smaller across the vapor phase. This investigation provides valuable information about the thermal performance of multi-phase nuclear fuel element for the potential space and ground applications

Modeling of Bulk Evaporation and Condensation

This report describes the modeling and mathematical formulation of the bulk evaporation and condensation involved in liquid-vapor phase change processes. An internal energy formulation, for these phase change processes that occur under the constraint of constant volume, was studied. Compared to the enthalpy formulation, the internal energy formulation has a more concise and compact form. The velocity and time scales of the interface movement were obtained through scaling analysis and verified by performing detailed numerical experiments. The convection effect induced by the density change was analyzed and found to be negligible compared to the conduction effect. Two iterative methods for updating the value of the vapor phase fraction, the energy based (E-based) and temperature based (T-based) methods, were investigated. Numerical experiments revealed that for the evaporation and condensation problems the E-based method is superior to the T-based method in terms of computational efficiency. The internal energy formulation and the E-based method were used to compute the bulk evaporation and condensation processes under different conditions. The evolution of the phase change processes was investigated. This work provided a basis for the modeling of thermal performance of multi-phase nuclear fuel elements under variable gravity conditions, in which the buoyancy convection due to gravity effects and internal heating are involved

The effects of dog management on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in villages on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Background The pastoral area of the eastern Tibetan plateau is a very important human echinococcosis endemic region. Domestic dogs are the main definitive host for the transmission of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.1.) and E. multilocularis to humans. To control the infection risks, a national-level canine echinococcosis prevention and control program has been implemented since 2015 in Shiqu County, Sichuan, China, The objective of this investigation was to evaluate its effect on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in dogs. Methods We surveyed 69 households with 84 owned dogs, for dog keeping information in the villages of Rizha and Eduoma. A total of 105 dog fecal samples, consisting of 75 from owned dogs and 30 unknown dog fecal samples were collected between 2015 and 2017 to determine Echinococcus spp. prevalence using copro-PCR. Eight variables based on household surveys were included into a logistic regression model for significantly relevant factors to canine echinococcosis prevalence in dogs. Results The overall Echinococcus spp. copro-DNA prevalence decreased significantly in dogs from 51.2% (2015) to 20.0% (2017) in Rizha, and insignificantly from 11.5% (2016) to 4.3% (2017) in Eduoma. Echinococcus multilocularis was the most prevalent species continually detected during the entire research period, while E. granulosus was rare and not detected in 2017. Echinococcus shiquicus prevalence was as high as E. multilocularis , although only detected in 2015 in Rizha. Unleashed dog feces were mainly collected in Rizha Village in 2015. Although 93.2% of owned dogs were leashed, and the monthly praziquantel dosing rate reached 97%, E. multilocularis infection could still be detected in 11.1% of owned dogs in 2017. Monthly deworming, leashing dogs 24h per day, and the avoidance of dogs feeding on livestock viscera are significant measures to prevent canine echinococcosis infection in owned dogs. Conclusion Carrying out a canine echinococcosis prevention and control program can significantly decrease the Echinococcus prevalence. The potential contact between leashed dogs and wild small mammals is still a risk to re-infect owned dogs. This study shows that the long term application of regular dog dosing in the vast remote echinococcosis endemic areas of west China is still challenging