Thermal and mechanical performance of 3D printing functionally graded concrete:The role of SAC on the rheology and phase evolution of 3DPC

In order to address the dual objectives of enhancing the mechanical and thermal performance of 3D printed concrete, this paper presents a 3D printing approach to design and prepare functional graded concrete for energy-saving sandwich structures with both thermal insulation and load-bearing functions. The 3D printing functionally graded concrete (3DPFGC) with a sandwich structure, consists of an expanded polystyrene concrete inner layer and a 3D printed concrete outer layer. In addition to the three-dimensional compressive strength and double-shearing tests, the thermal conductivity of 3DPFGC was also measured by steady-state method and compared with the transient method and verified by theoretical formulas. The influence of sulphoaluminate cement on the printability of the load-bearing layer was also comprehensively investigated by calorimetry test, rheological test, XRD and TG analysis. The addition of SAC has a significant impact on the early fresh properties, including accelerating the setting time and optimizing the rheological properties, directly improving the printing performance. 3DPFGC exhibits significantly higher compressive strength compared with other lightweight insulating concrete with similar thermal conductivities. The outcome of this research provides valuable guidance for the application of 3DPFGC in building engineering, contributing to the development of energy-efficient and structural construction materials.</p

Rheological behavior of 3D printed concrete:Influential factors and printability prediction scheme

The rheological properties of cementitious materials play a crucial role in determining the printability for extrusion-based 3D concrete printing. This study develops data-driven machine learning (ML) models to predict two key rheological parameters - plastic viscosity (PV) and yield stress (YS) of 3D printable cementitious composites based on the mixture composition and time after water addition. A systematic experimental study is conducted by varying the contents of cement, fly ash, silica fume, sulfoaluminate cement, superplasticizer, and water-to-binder ratio, and time after water addition. The measured rheological data is used to construct a database for training predictive models including linear regression, support vector regression, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, and multi-layer perceptron neural network. The extreme gradient boosting model achieves the highest prediction accuracy with low root mean square error and all coefficients of determination exceeding 0.9 for both plastic viscosity and yield stress. Importance analysis identifies the most influential parameters affecting the rheological properties. A printability classification scheme is proposed using the model predictions by defining a printable zone of PV and YS. The data-driven framework is validated to effectively predict printability of new mixtures without trial-and-error. This study demonstrates the potential of ML models to accelerate the design and optimization of 3D printable cementitious materials.</p

Charm-Quark Production in Deep-Inelastic Neutrino Scattering at Next-to-Next-to-Leading Order in QCD

We present a fully differential next-to-next-to-leading order calculation of charm-quark production in charged-current deep-inelastic scattering, with full charm-quark mass dependence. The next-to-next-to-leading order corrections in perturbative quantum chromodynamics are found to be comparable in size to the next-to-leading order corrections in certain kinematic regions. We compare our predictions with data on dimuon production in (anti)neutrino scattering from a heavy nucleus. Our results can be used to improve the extraction of the parton distribution function of a strange quark in the nucleon.National Natural Science Foundation (China) (Grant No. 11375013)National Natural Science Foundation (China) (Grant No. 11135003)United States. Dept. of Energy (Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357)United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Nuclear Physics (U.S. DOE Contract No. DE-SC0011090

Rheology control and shrinkage mitigation of 3D printed geopolymer concrete using nanocellulose and magnesium oxide

3D printing concrete (3DPC) is an emerging technology that produces concrete using digital method and has revolutionized the traditional labor-intensive construction mode. However, the free formwork printing and layer-by-layer production of 3DPC induce severe shrinkage and plastic cracking during the early ages, especially for the geopolymer based materials. This research utilizes the nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC) with the combination of magnesium oxides expansive agent (MEA) to mitigate the plastic and drying shrinkage of 3D printing geopolymer concrete (3DPGC), while optimizing its rheological behavior. The results show that after modification with proper dosages of NFC and MEA, 3DPGC showed reduced plastic and drying shrinkage at early ages, with improved printability, buildability, and mechanical strength. The underlying role of NFC and MEA on the performance of 3DPGC was thoroughly analyzed with rheometry, calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and internal humidity test. The water retention ability of nanocellulose can provide more moisture at early ages, thus mitigating cracking, while MEA can compromise the drying shrinkage at later ages. The contribution of the study shed light on the application of nanocellulose and MgO to increase the volume stability and mechanical performance of 3D printing geopolymer concrete.</p

Efficacy and safety of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in the real world: a single-arm meta-analysis

Abstract Background Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab was approved in 2020 as a first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this study was to assess the curative effect and tolerability of the combination treatment in advanced HCC. Methods Web of Science, PubMed and Embase were retrieved for qualified literatures on the treatment of advanced HCC with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab until September 1, 2022. The outcomes included pooled overall response (OR), complete response (CR), partial response (PR), median overall survival (mOS), median progression-free survival (mPFS), and adverse events (AEs). Results Twenty-three studies, comprising 3168 patients, were enrolled. The pooled OR, CR, and PR rates of the long-term (more than six weeks) therapy response based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) were 26%, 2%, and 23%, respectively. The pooled OR, CR, and PR rates of the short-term (six weeks) therapeutic response evaluated with RECIST were 13%, 0%, and 15%, respectively. The pooled mOS and mPFS were 14.7 months and 6.66 months, respectively. During the treatment, 83% and 30% of patients experienced any grade AEs and grade 3 and above AEs, respectively. Conclusions Atezolizumab in combination with bevacizumab showed good efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of advanced HCC. Compared with short-term, non-first-line, and low-dose therapy, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in long-term, first-line, and standard-dose treatment for advanced HCC showed a better tumor response rate

Differential distributions for t-channel single top-quark production and decay at next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD

We present a detailed phenomenological study of the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) QCD corrections for t-channel single top (anti-)quark production and its semi-leptonic decay at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We find the NNLO corrections for the total inclusive rates at the LHC with different center of mass energies are generally smaller than the NLO corrections, indicative of improved convergence. However, they can be large for differential distributions, reaching a level of 10% or more in certain regions of the transverse momentum distributions of the top (anti-)quark and the pseudo-rapidity distributions of the leading jet in the event. In all cases the perturbative hard-scale uncertainties are greatly reduced after the NNLO corrections are included. We also show a comparison of the normalized parton-level distributions to recent data from the 8 TeV measurement of the ATLAS collaboration. The NNLO corrections tend to shift the theoretical predictions closer to the measured transverse momentum distribution of the top (anti)-quark. Importantly, for the LHC at 13 TeV, we present NNLO cross sections in a fiducial volume with decays of the top quark included. Keywords: NLO Computations; QCD PhenomenologyUnited States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-AC02-06CH11357

Intercropping competition between apple trees and crops in agroforestry systems on the Loess Plateau of China.

Agroforestry has been widely practiced in the Loess Plateau region of China because of its prominent effects in reducing soil and water losses, improving land-use efficiency and increasing economic returns. However, the agroforestry practices may lead to competition between crops and trees for underground soil moisture and nutrients, and the trees on the canopy layer may also lead to shortage of light for crops. In order to minimize interspecific competition and maximize the benefits of tree-based intercropping systems, we studied photosynthesis, growth and yield of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) by measuring photosynthetically active radiation, net photosynthetic rate, soil moisture and soil nutrients in a plantation of apple (Malus pumila M.) at a spacing of 4 m × 5 m on the Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that for both intercropping systems in the study region, soil moisture was the primary factor affecting the crop yields followed by light. Deficiency of the soil nutrients also had a significant impact on crop yields. Compared with soybean, peanut was more suitable for intercropping with apple trees to obtain economic benefits in the region. We concluded that apple-soybean and apple-peanut intercropping systems can be practical and beneficial in the region. However, the distance between crops and tree rows should be adjusted to minimize interspecies competition. Agronomic measures such as regular canopy pruning, root barriers, additional irrigation and fertilization also should be applied in the intercropping systems

Revealment study on the regulation of lipid metabolism by Lingguizhugan Decoction in heart failure treatment based on integrated lipidomics and proteomics

Lingguizhugan Decoction (LGZGD) is a classical traditional Chinese medicine prescription. Our previous studies found that disorders of lipid metabolism were reversed by LGZGD in heart failure (HF) mice. This study aimed to reveal the regulation of lipid metabolism of LGZGD. A mice model of HF was established by intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin. The components of LGZGD were identified with the UHPLC-QTOF-MS method. The regulation of lipid metabolism by LGZGD was detected by serum lipidomics and heart tissue proteomics. Molecular docking was further performed to screen active components. A total of 78 compounds in LGZGD were identified. Results of lipidomics showed that 37 lipids illustrated a significant recovery trend to normal after the treatment of LGZGD. Results of proteomics demonstrated that 55 proteins were altered by the administration of LGZGD in HF mice. After enrichment analysis, the Prakg2/Ucp2/Plin1 axis on the Apelin pathway plays a vital role in HF treatment by LGZGD. Nine active components exhibited the outstanding ability of binding to the apelin receptor with MM-GBSA value lower than −60 Kcal/mol. In conclusion, all results combined together revealed that multi-component in the LGZGD had beneficial effects on the HF through ameliorating lipid disorders, which provides a novel insight into the cardioprotective effects of LGZGD and its clinical application

Nanoporous Activated Carbon Derived from Rice Husk for High Performance Supercapacitor

Nanoporous activated carbon material was produced from the waste rice husks (RHs) by precarbonizing RHs and activating with KOH. The morphology, structure, and specific surface area were investigated. The nanoporous carbon has the average pore size of 2.2 nm and high specific area of 2523.4 m2 g−1. The specific capacitance of the nanoporous carbon is calculated to be 250 F g−1 at the current density of 1 A g−1 and remains 80% for 198 F g−1 at the current density of 20 A g−1. The nanoporous carbon electrode exhibits long-term cycle life and could keep stable capacitance till 10,000 cycles. The consistently high specific capacitance, rate capacity, and long-term cycle life ability makes it a potential candidate as electrode material for supercapacitor