Extrusion Processing of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a unique thermoplastic polymer with excellent performances. It has ultra-high molecular weight and extreme rheological behaviour, which make it a worldwide challenge to process UHMWPE continuously with little or without processing aids. Although the polymer processing technology has been increasingly maturated, it still cannot carry out the industrialized production efficiency by conventional processing methods and apparatus at present. In this chapter, we review the progress of extrusion processing technology for UHMWPE, including ram extrusion, single screw extrusion, twin screw extrusion and novel extrusion technology based on extensional rheology. By summarizing of these processing technologies, a basic framework of the processing principles and methods for UHMWPE is clearly presented. It is helpful for us to understand the processing characteristics and methods for such thermoplastic polymer with ultra-high molecular weight

Higgs-flavon mixing and LHC phenomenology in a simplified model of broken flavor symmetry

The LHC phenomenology of a low-scale gauged flavor symmetry model with inverted hierarchy is studied, through introduction of a simplified model of broken flavor symmetry. A new scalar (a flavon) and a new neutral top-philic massive gauge boson emerge with mass in the TeV range along with a new heavy fermion associated with the standard model top quark. After checking constraints from electroweak precision observables, we investigate the influence of the model on Higgs boson physics, notably on its production cross section and decay branching fractions. Limits on the flavon $\varphi$ from heavy Higgs boson searches at the LHC at 7 and 8 TeV are presented. The branching fractions of the flavon are computed as a function of the flavon mass and the Higgs-flavon mixing angle. We also explore possible discovery of the flavon at 14 TeV, particularly via the $\varphi \rightarrow Z^0Z^0$ decay channel in the $2\ell2\ell'$ final state, and through standard model Higgs boson pair production $\varphi \rightarrow hh$ in the $b\bar{b}\gamma\gamma$ final state. We conclude that the flavon mass range up to $500$ GeV could probed down to quite small values of the Higgs-flavon mixing angle with 100 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity at 14 TeV.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figure

Progress in the seasonal variations of blood lipids: a mini-review.

The seasonal variations of blood lipids have recently gained increasing interest in this field of lipid metabolism. Elucidating the seasonal patterns of blood lipids is particularly helpful for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, the previous results remain controversial and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This mini-review is focused on summarizing the literature relevant to the seasonal variability of blood lipid parameters, as well as on discussing its significance in clinical diagnoses and management decisions

Numerical analysis of the flow mechanism and axial force characteristics of the cavity in a centrifugal pump with a front inducer

At three flow conditions (0.8Qd, 1.0Qd, and 1.2Qd), the centrifugal pump cavity with front inducer was expanded at 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°, and a flow path analysis of the axial cross section at the four angles was performed. This revealed that the circumferential and radial velocities of the liquid in the pump cavity along the same angle at different radii follow an axial and radial variation law to different degrees. The pump cavity center axial liquid velocity component along the radial distribution at different angles was analyzed, and liquid pressure in the pump cavity along the radial distribution was numerically analyzed from different points of view. The mean pump cavity pressure was plotted along the radial distribution curve, and a detailed numerical calculation of the axial force of the centrifugal pump and pump cavity was developed. The influence of flow conditions on the liquid flow mechanism and axial force characteristics in the pump cavity was thoroughly discussed. The results showed that liquid flow in the centrifugal pump cavity with the front inducer is mainly restricted by the main flow of the volute. The liquid eddy current in the pump cavity is mainly concentrated near the volute and the hub at 90° and 180° angles, and the higher the flow rate, the larger is the area of the side vortex of the impeller-cover plate, and the smaller is the area of the side vortex of the pump-cover plate. When the flow rate increases, the flow direction of the eddy current at the same angle in the pump cavity remains unchanged, but when the flow rate becomes too high, the flow direction of the eddy current at the same angle in the pump cavity changes. When the range of circumferential and radial partial velocities decreases, the rotational angular velocity increases, and the pressure decreases. At low flow rate, the larger the area of the volute corresponding to the pump cavity, the higher the speed becomes. The axial force in the pump cavity is the most important factor determining the axial force of the centrifugal pump

Preparation of Porous Biodegradable Polymer and Its Nanocomposites by Supercritical CO 2

Using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as an alternative to conventional methods in the preparation of porous biodegradable polymer and polymer/nanocomposites for tissue engineering has attracted increasing interest in recent years due to the absence of using organic solvents and the ability to incorporate thermosensitive biologicals without loss of bioactivity. Additionally, scCO2 can exert a high level of control over porosity and morphology of scaffolds by tuning the processing parameters. This paper describes the newly achievements on the preparation of porous polymer materials using scCO2 foaming technology with focus on the porous biodegradable materials and its nanocomposites relevant to tissue engineering

Establishing reference intervals of coagulation indices based on the ACL Top 700 system for children in Southwestern Fujian, China

Abstract(#br)Background(#br)Till date, China has not issued industry standards for reference intervals (RIs) of pediatric blood coagulation indices. Here, we evaluated changes in the coagulation indices in the venous blood of healthy children aged 29 days to 12 years derived using the ACL Top 700 system and established appropriate RIs.(#br)Methods(#br)We analyzed venous blood from 1770 healthy children for five coagulation indices. RIs were established according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute C28-A3c guideline.(#br)Results(#br)The coagulation indices were grouped by age. For prothrombin time (PT) and international normalization ratio (INR), the RIs of infants and toddlers were identical; preschool children had the same RI as school-age children. Pediatric RIs for PT and INR were slightly lower than those for adults. The RIs of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and fibrinogen (FIB) in childhood were divided into two groups by age (1 month to 1 year and 1–12 years). The RI of APTT in infants was the widest; the overall level of FIB in infants was the lowest; children’s APTT and FIB RIs were lower than those of adults. The pattern of TT values and RI trends in childhood were similar to those of APTT.(#br)Conclusions(#br)There were minor changes in the RIs of coagulation indices for children. The RIs of PT, INR, APTT, TT, and FIB must be grouped by age. The RIs of coagulation indices for children were different from those for adults; therefore, establishing separate RIs for children is necessary

Human germline and pan-cancer variomes and their distinct functional profiles

Identification of non-synonymous single nucleotide variations (nsSNVs) has exponentially increased due to advances in Next-Generation Sequencing technologies. The functional impacts of these variations have been difficult to ascertain because the corresponding knowledge about sequence functional sites is quite fragmented. It is clear that mapping of variations to sequence functional features can help us better understand the pathophysiological role of variations. In this study, we investigated the effect of nsSNVs on more than 17 common types of post-translational modification (PTM) sites, active sites and binding sites. Out of 1 705 285 distinct nsSNVs on 259 216 functional sites we identified 38 549 variations that significantly affect 10 major functional sites. Furthermore, we found distinct patterns of site disruptions due to germline and somatic nsSNVs. Pan-cancer analysis across 12 different cancer types led to the identification of 51 genes with 106 nsSNV affected functional sites found in 3 or more cancer types. 13 of the 51 genes overlap with previously identified Significantly Mutated Genes (Nature. 2013 Oct 17;502(7471)). 62 mutations in these 13 genes affecting functional sites such as DNA, ATP binding and various PTM sites occur across several cancers and can be prioritized for additional validation and investigations

Establishing reference intervals of coagulation indices based on the ACL Top 700 system for children in Southwestern Fujian, China.

BACKGROUND(#br)Till date, China has not issued industry standards for reference intervals (RIs) of pediatric blood coagulation indices. Here, we evaluated changes in the coagulation indices in the venous blood of healthy children aged 29 days to 12 years derived using the ACL Top 700 system and established appropriate RIs.(#br)METHODS(#br)We analyzed venous blood from 1770 healthy children for five coagulation indices. RIs were established according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute C28-A3c guideline.(#br)RESULTS(#br)The coagulation indices were grouped by age. For prothrombin time (PT) and international normalization ratio (INR), the RIs of infants and toddlers were identical; preschool children had the same RI as school-age children. Pediatric RIs for PT and INR were slightly lower than those for adults. The RIs of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and fibrinogen (FIB) in childhood were divided into two groups by age (1 month to 1 year and 1-12 years). The RI of APTT in infants was the widest; the overall level of FIB in infants was the lowest; children’s APTT and FIB RIs were lower than those of adults. The pattern of TT values and RI trends in childhood were similar to those of APTT.(#br)CONCLUSIONS(#br)There were minor changes in the RIs of coagulation indices for children. The RIs of PT, INR, APTT, TT, and FIB must be grouped by age. The RIs of coagulation indices for children were different from those for adults; therefore, establishing separate RIs for children is necessary

Affective Affordance of Message Balloon Animations: An Early Exploration of AniBalloons

We introduce the preliminary exploration of AniBalloons, a novel form of chat balloon animations aimed at enriching nonverbal affective expression in text-based communications. AniBalloons were designed using extracted motion patterns from affective animations and mapped to six commonly communicated emotions. An evaluation study with 40 participants assessed their effectiveness in conveying intended emotions and their perceived emotional properties. The results showed that 80% of the animations effectively conveyed the intended emotions. AniBalloons covered a broad range of emotional parameters, comparable to frequently used emojis, offering potential for a wide array of affective expressions in daily communication. The findings suggest AniBalloons' promise for enhancing emotional expressiveness in text-based communication and provide early insights for future affective design.Comment: Accepted by CSCW 2023 poste