Heat Transfer Correlations for Supercritical Water in Vertically Upward Tubes

Supercritical pressure water (SCW) has been widely used in many engineering fields and industries, such as fossil fuel-fired power plants, newly developed Gen-IV nuclear power plants and so forth. Heat transfer characteristics of SCW are of great importance for both design and safe operation of the related systems. Many heat transfer correlations have been developed in the history for predicting the heat transfer characteristics of SCW. However, the prediction accuracy of the existing correlations is less than satisfactory, especially in the cases with deteriorated heat transfer (DHT) because of the severe and quick variation in thermal physical properties of SCW in the vicinity of the fluids’ pseudo critical point. It is very necessary to develop new correlations for the heat transfer of SCW to meet the engineering requirements for satisfactory prediction of the heat transfer behavior of SCW. In this chapter, experimental data on heat transfer of SCW are extensively collected from published literatures, and the performance of the existing heat transfer correlations for SCW are reviewed and quantitatively evaluated against the collected experimental data, and then a new heat transfer correlation for SCW with high prediction accuracy is proposed

Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate defines chronic kidney disease and is associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), combining data across 133,413 individuals with replication in up to 42,166 individuals. We identify 24 new and confirm 29 previously identified loci. Of these 53 loci, 19 associate with eGFR among individuals with diabetes. Using bioinformatics, we show that identified genes at eGFR loci are enriched for expression in kidney tissues and in pathways relevant for kidney development and transmembrane transporter activity, kidney structure, and regulation of glucose metabolism. Chromatin state mapping and DNase I hypersensitivity analyses across adult tissues demonstrate preferential mapping of associated variants to regulatory regions in kidney but not extra-renal tissues. These findings suggest that genetic determinants of eGFR are mediated largely through direct effects within the kidney and highlight important cell types and biological pathways

Dietary effects of enzymolytic soybean meal inclusion on antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology and caecal microbiota of Rex rabbits

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of enzymolytic soybean meal (ESBM) on antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology and caecal microbiota in Rex rabbits. One-hundred-twenty 40-day-old healthy Rex rabbits were randomly divided into four groups with thirty replicates in each group and one rabbit per replicate. The control group was fed the basal diet and the ESBM treated groups (T1, T2 and T3) were fed 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% ESBM instead of the equivalent amount of soybean meal (SBM) in the basal diet, respectively. The study lasted 61 days, including a pre-feeding period of 5 days and a formal trial period of 56 days. Compared with the control group, the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in the liver, as well as total antioxidant capacity were significantly increased in the T3 group (p  0.05). Compared with the control group, the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013 was increased significantly in both T2 and T3 groups (p < 0.05), and the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae_unclassified was decreased significantly in all treatment groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the replacement of equivalent amounts of SBM with ESBM in the diet of Rex rabbits can increase the antioxidant capacity of the liver and improve the caecal microbiota, and the optimal replacement level was 1.5%.HIGHLIGHTS Enzymolytic soybean meal (ESBM) increased the liver antioxidant capacity of Rex rabbits. ESBM improved the caecal microbiota of Rex rabbits. Effects of ESBM on the intestinal morphology and pH of Rex rabbits were evaluated

Bone-inspired (GNEC/HAPAAm) hydrogel with fatigue-resistance for use in underwater robots and highly piezoresistive sensors

Abstract A novel bone-inspired fatigue-resistant hydrogel with excellent mechanical and piezoresistive properties was developed, and it exhibited great potential as a load and strain sensor for underwater robotics and daily monitoring. The hydrogel was created by using the high edge density and aspect ratio of graphene nanosheet-embedded carbon (GNEC) nanomaterials to form a three-dimensional conductive network and prevent the expansion of microcracks in the hydrogel system. Multiscale progressive enhancement of the organic hydrogels (micrometer scale) was realized with inorganic graphene nanosheets (nanometer scale). The graphene nanocrystals inside the GNEC film exhibited good electron transport properties, and the increased distances between the graphene nanocrystals inside the GNEC film caused by external forces increased the resistance, so the hydrogel was highly sensitive and suitable for connection to a loop for sensing applications. The hydrogels obtained in this work exhibited excellent mechanical properties, such as tensile properties (strain up to 1685%) and strengths (stresses up to 171 kPa), that make them suitable for use as elastic retraction devices in robotics and provide high sensitivities (150 ms) for daily human monitoring

Epidemiology and characteristics of identified early mpox cases in Guangdong Province, China: Implications for prevention and control

In June 2023, the 2022 global mpox (monkeypox) outbreak began to affect Guangdong Province, one of the first regions in mainland China to report mpox cases. By July 10, 2023, 93 mpox cases had been reported in Guangdong Province. This study describes the epidemiological characteristics of these patients by collecting and analyzing data on demographics, sexual behavior, medical history, travel history, clinical symptoms, and diagnostic pathways and processes. The 93 mpox cases were all men aged 20-48 years, 95.70 % were men who have sex with men (MSM), and 48.39 % were HIV-positive. A few cases were married (to women) or living with children. The rash was present in almost all cases (98.91 %), with the most common sites being the genital and perianal areas (70.33 %). Intimate sexual contact was suspected to be the main route of infection, with a median incubation period of 8.5 days (IQR 5.0–11.8). The number of cases increased rapidly, and most patients had no history of international travel, suggesting sustained community transmission within the MSM population in Guangdong Province. In addition, 93.55 % of cases were detected by medical institutions, and more than half of these patients had two or more hospital visits before being diagnosed as an mpox case, indicating that clinicians need further training to increase their sensitivity to mpox. Targeted interventions should prioritize MSM while remaining vigilant for transmission to other populations, such as women and children

sj-tif-2-car-10.1177_19476035231207778 – Supplemental material for Novel-miR-81 Promotes the Chondrocytes Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Through Inhibiting Rac2 Expression

Supplemental material, sj-tif-2-car-10.1177_19476035231207778 for Novel-miR-81 Promotes the Chondrocytes Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Through Inhibiting Rac2 Expression by Ziwei Luo, Jinqi Xie, Haoxiang Ye, Jie Zhang, Yangping Liu, Chunmei Ma, Jiahui Cao, Hao Pan, Xiaosheng Liu, Xianxi Zhou, Jiechen Kong, Dongfeng Chen and Aijun Liu in CARTILAGE</p