Evaluation of the Uniformity of Protective Coatings on Concrete Structure Surfaces Based on Cluster Analysis

With the continuous development of urbanization and industrialization in the world, concrete is widely used in various engineering constructions as an engineering material. However, the consequent problem of durability of concrete structures is also becoming increasingly prominent. As an important additional measure, a protective coating can effectively improve the durability of concrete performance. Moreover, the uniformity of the concrete surface coating will directly affect its protective effect. Therefore, we propose a nondestructive inspection and evaluation method of coating uniformity based on infrared imaging and cluster analysis for concrete surface coating uniformity detection and evaluation. Based on the obtained infrared images, a series of processing and analysis of the images were carried out using MATLAB software to obtain the characteristics of the infrared images of the concrete surface. Finally, by extracting the temperature distribution data of the pixel points on the concrete surface, an evaluation method of concrete surface coating uniformity based on a combination of cluster analysis and hierarchical analysis was established. The evaluation results show that the determination results obtained by this method are consistent with the actual situation. This study has a positive contribution to the testing of concrete surface coating uniformity and its evaluation

Geochemical characteristics and source of crude oil from the eastern Shawan Sag, Junggar Basin

The Shawan Sag is one of the important exploration areas in the hinterland of the Junggar Basin. In order to better clarify the source of crude oil from the Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous reservoirs in the sag and identify hydrocarbon accumulation processes and enrichment pattern, the authors conducted a carbon isotope and biomarker analysis on the typical crude oil samples from the eastern Shawan Sag in this study, and further carried out crude oil classification and oil-source correlation based on the analysis of geochemical characteristics of crude oil. The results indicate that the crude oil from different strata in the eastern Shawan Sag can be divided into three types. The first type mainly occurs in the Permian and Jurassic reservoirs, and its whole oil δ13C value and Pr/Ph ratio range from -31.0‰ to -29.0‰ and from 1.0 to 2.0, respectively. The relative contents of αααR regular sterane display the characteristics of C27 C23 TT and C24TeT/C26TT C21>C23TT. The distribution fraction of methyl phenanthrene reflects that the crude oil is in the stage of high-maturity evolution. All these indicate the mixing of crude oil generated in the Lower Permian source rocks. The second type occurs in the Middle Jurassic reservoirs. The whole oil δ13C value and individual n-alkanes δ13C value are higher than -29.0‰. The Pr/Ph ratio is relatively higher, ranging from 2.0 to 2.5, with C24TeT/C26TT>1, which indicate that this type of crude oil is mainly derived from the Jurassic source rocks. The third type occurs in the Lower Cretaceous reservoirs, and its whole oil δ13C value and Pr/Ph ratio are lower than -31.0‰ and 1.0, respectively. The αααR regular sterane contents display the characteristics of C27≈C28 <C29, with the gammacerane index higher than 0.50. The individual n-alkanes δ13C value gradually decreases with the increase of carbon number and is commonly lower than -31.0‰. This type of oil is demonstrated to be mainly derived from the Lower Cretaceous source rocks

Direct Access to 3‑Thioether-Substituted Dihydrofuro[2,3‑<i>b</i>]benzofurans via Tandem Reactions of Sulfur Ylides and 2‑Nitrobenzofurans

The synthesis of 3-thioether-substituted dihydrofuro[2,3-b]benzofurans involving the [3 + 2] coupling of sulfur ylides with 2-nitrobenzofurans has been realized in moderate to good yields under mild conditions without any precious catalysts or additives. It is worth mentioning that the reutilization of the departed nitro-anion in the reaction process facilitates this new chemical transformation and presents a manner of high atom economy to provide products with a complex structure

Intensive Ambulance-Delivered Blood-Pressure Reduction in Hyperacute Stroke

BackgroundTreatment of acute stroke, before a distinction can be made between ischemic and hemorrhagic types, is challenging. Whether very early blood-pressure control in the ambulance improves outcomes among patients with undifferentiated acute stroke is uncertain.MethodsWe randomly assigned patients with suspected acute stroke that caused a motor deficit and with elevated systolic blood pressure (≥150 mm Hg), who were assessed in the ambulance within 2 hours after the onset of symptoms, to receive immediate treatment to lower the systolic blood pressure (target range, 130 to 140 mm Hg) (intervention group) or usual blood-pressure management (usual-care group). The primary efficacy outcome was functional status as assessed by the score on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) at 90 days after randomization. The primary safety outcome was any serious adverse event.ResultsA total of 2404 patients (mean age, 70 years) in China underwent randomization and provided consent for the trial: 1205 in the intervention group and 1199 in the usual-care group. The median time between symptom onset and randomization was 61 minutes (interquartile range, 41 to 93), and the mean blood pressure at randomization was 178/98 mm Hg. Stroke was subsequently confirmed by imaging in 2240 patients, of whom 1041 (46.5%) had a hemorrhagic stroke. At the time of patients' arrival at the hospital, the mean systolic blood pressure in the intervention group was 158 mm Hg, as compared with 170 mm Hg in the usual-care group. Overall, there was no difference in functional outcome between the two groups (common odds ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87 to 1.15), and the incidence of serious adverse events was similar in the two groups. Prehospital reduction of blood pressure was associated with a decrease in the odds of a poor functional outcome among patients with hemorrhagic stroke (common odds ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.92) but an increase among patients with cerebral ischemia (common odds ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.60).ConclusionsIn this trial, prehospital blood-pressure reduction did not improve functional outcomes in a cohort of patients with undifferentiated acute stroke, of whom 46.5% subsequently received a diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke. (Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and others; INTERACT4 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03790800; Chinese Trial Registry number, ChiCTR1900020534.)