260 research outputs found
Grey Game Model for Energy Conservation Strategies
A grey game model is constructed for enterprise carbon emissions reduction and government policies on energy conservation, which explains the interaction equilibrium strategies between government and enterprises with resource constraints. The MATLAB tools are used to simulate the game process, and the result shows that the optimal strategy is consistent with the operation result. Finally, macroscopic countermeasures and suggestions are proposed for government and enterprise
Poly[[tetraaqua-μ4-fumarato-di-μ3-fumarato-dineodymium(III)] trihydrate]
The title coordination polymer, {[Nd2(C4H2O4)3(H2O)4]·3H2O}, was synthesized by the reaction of neodymium(III) nitrate hexahydrate with fumaric acid in a water–methanol (7:3) solution. The asymmetric unit comprises two Nd3+ cations, three fumarate dianions (L
2−), four aqua ligands and three uncoordinated water molecules. The carboxylate groups of the fumarate dianions exhibit different coordination modes. In one fumarate dianion, two carboxylate groups chelate two Nd3+ cations, while one of the O atoms is coordinated to another Nd3+ cation. Another fumarate dianion bridges three Nd3+ cations: one of the carboxylate groups chelates one Nd3+ cation, while the other carboxylate group bridges two Nd3+ cations in a monodentate mode. The third fumarate dianion bridges four Nd3+ cations, where one of the carboxylate groups chelates one Nd3+ cation and coordinates in a monodentate mode to a second Nd3+, while the second carboxylate groups bridges two Nd3+ cations in a monodentate mode and one O atom is coordinated to one Nd3+ cation. The Nd3+ cations are in a distorted tricapped–trigonal prismatic environment and coordinated by seven O atoms from the fumarate ligands and two O atoms from water molecules. The Nd3+ cations are linked by two carboxylate O atoms and two carboxylate groups, generating infinite Nd–O chains to form a three-dimensional framework. There are O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding interactions between the coordinated and uncoordinated water molecules and carboxylate O atoms
Fast Fourier-like Mapped Chebyshev Spectral-Galerkin Methods for PDEs with Integral Fractional Laplacian in Unbounded Domains
In this paper, we propose a fast spectral-Galerkin method for solving PDEs
involving integral fractional Laplacian in , which is built upon
two essential components: (i) the Dunford-Taylor formulation of the fractional
Laplacian; and (ii) Fourier-like bi-orthogonal mapped Chebyshev functions
(MCFs) as basis functions. As a result, the fractional Laplacian can be fully
diagonalised, and the complexity of solving an elliptic fractional PDE is
quasi-optimal, i.e., with being the number of modes in
each spatial direction. Ample numerical tests for various decaying exact
solutions show that the convergence of the fast solver perfectly matches the
order of theoretical error estimates. With a suitable time-discretization, the
fast solver can be directly applied to a large class of nonlinear fractional
PDEs. As an example, we solve the fractional nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation
by using the fourth-order time-splitting method together with the proposed
MCF-spectral-Galerkin method.Comment: This article has a total of 24 pages and including 22 figure
Enhanced acupuncture therapy for radiotherapy-related neuropathic pain in patients with gynecologic cancer: a report of two cases and brief review
As radiation therapy is increasingly utilized in the treatment of cancer, neuropathic pain (NP) is a common radiotherapy-related adverse effect and has a significant impact on clinical outcomes negatively. However, despite an improved understanding of neuropathic pain management, pain is often undertreated in patients with cancer. Herein, we reported two cases with radiotherapy-related neuropathic pain (RRNP) who presented a positive reaction to acupuncture. Patient 1 (a 73-year-old woman) with gynecologic cancer complained of burning and electric shock-like pain in the lower limb after radiotherapy. With the accepted combination of acupuncture and drugs, the pain was alleviated completely in 8 weeks. Patient 2 (a 64-year-old woman) accepted acupuncture in the absence of medication because of her inability to tolerate the adverse events of anticonvulsant drugs. She achieved remission of pain 4 weeks later. The results of this study showed that acupuncture might be promising for controlling the RRNP in patients with cancer, especially who were intolerant or unresponsive to medications
Effect of ingestion by two frugivorous bat species on the seed germination of Ficus racemosa and F. hispida (Moraceae
In-cloud formation of secondary species in iron-containing particles
The increase in secondary species through cloud processing potentially
increases aerosol iron (Fe) bioavailability. In this study, a ground-based
counterflow virtual impactor coupled with a real-time single-particle aerosol
mass spectrometer was used to characterize the formation of secondary species
in Fe-containing cloud residues (dried cloud droplets) at a mountain site in
southern China for nearly 1 month during the autumn of 2016. Fe-rich,
Fe-dust, Fe-elemental carbon (Fe-EC), and Fe-vanadium (Fe-V) cloud residual
types were obtained in this study. The Fe-rich particles, related to
combustion sources, contributed 84 % (by number) to the Fe-containing
cloud residues, and the Fe-dust particles represented 12 %. The remaining
4 % consisted of the Fe-EC and Fe-V particles. It was found that above
90 % (by number) of Fe-containing particles had already contained sulfate
before cloud events, leading to no distinct change in number fraction (NF) of
sulfate during cloud events. Cloud processing contributed to the enhanced NFs
of nitrate, chloride, and oxalate in the Fe-containing cloud residues.
However, the in-cloud formation of nitrate and chloride in the Fe-rich type
was less obvious relative to the Fe-dust type. The increased NF of oxalate in
the Fe-rich cloud residues was produced via aqueous oxidation of oxalate
precursors (e.g., glyoxylate). Moreover, Fe-driven Fenton reactions likely
increase the formation rate of aqueous-phase OH, improving the conversion of
the precursors to oxalate in the Fe-rich cloud residues. During daytime, the
decreased NF of oxalate in the Fe-rich cloud residues was supposed to be due
to the photolysis of Fe-oxalate complexes. This work emphasizes the role of
combustion Fe sources in participating in cloud processing and has important
implications for evaluating Fe bioavailability from combustion sources during
cloud processing.</p
In-orbit background simulation of a type-B CATCH satellite
The Chasing All Transients Constellation Hunters (CATCH) space mission plans
to launch three types of micro-satellites (A, B, and C). The type-B CATCH
satellites are dedicated to locating transients and detecting their
time-dependent energy spectra. A type-B satellite is equipped with lightweight
Wolter-I X-ray optics and an array of position-sensitive multi-pixel Silicon
Drift Detectors. To optimize the scientific payloads for operating properly in
orbit and performing the observations with high sensitivities, this work
performs an in-orbit background simulation of a type-B CATCH satellite using
the Geant4 toolkit. It shows that the persistent background is dominated by the
cosmic X-ray diffuse background and the cosmic-ray protons. The dynamic
background is also estimated considering trapped charged particles in the
radiation belts and low-energy charged particles near the geomagnetic equator,
which is dominated by the incident electrons outside the aperture. The
simulated persistent background within the focal spot is used to estimate the
observation sensitivity, i.e. 4.2210 erg cm s
with an exposure of 10 s and a Crab-like source spectrum, which can be
utilized further to optimize the shielding design. The simulated in-orbit
background also suggests that the magnetic diverter just underneath the optics
may be unnecessary in this kind of micro-satellites, because the dynamic
background induced by charged particles outside the aperture is around 3 orders
of magnitude larger than that inside the aperture.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in
Experimental Astronom
Assessment of the effect of betaine on p16 and c-myc DNA methylation and mRNA expression in a chemical induced rat liver cancer model
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development and progression of liver cancer may involve abnormal changes in DNA methylation, which lead to the activation of certain proto-oncogenes, such as <it>c-myc</it>, as well as the inactivation of certain tumor suppressors, such as <it>p16</it>. Betaine, as an active methyl-donor, maintains normal DNA methylation patterns. However, there are few investigations on the protective effect of betaine in hepatocarcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four groups of rats were given diethylinitrosamine (DEN) and fed with AIN-93G diets supplemented with 0, 10, 20 or 40 g betaine/kg (model, 1%, 2%, and 4% betaine, respectively), while the control group, received no DEN, fed with AIN-93G diet. Eight or 15 weeks later, the expression of <it>p16 </it>and <it>c-myc </it>mRNA was examined by Real-time PCR (Q-PCR). The DNA methylation status within the <it>p16 </it>and <it>c-myc </it>promoter was analyzed using methylation-specific PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with the model group, numbers and areas of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-p)-positive foci were decreased in the livers of the rats treated with betaine (<it>P < 0.05</it>). Although the frequency of <it>p16 </it>promoter methylation in livers of the four DEN-fed groups appeared to increase, there is no difference among these groups after 8 or 15 weeks (<it>P > 0.05</it>). Betaine supplementation attenuated the down-regulation of <it>p16 </it>and inhibited the up-regulation of <it>c-myc </it>induced by DEN in a dose-dependent manner (<it>P </it>< 0.01). Meanwhile, increases in levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in model, 2% and 4% betaine groups were observed (<it>P < 0.05</it>). Finally, enhanced antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) was observed in both the 2% and 4% betaine groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest that betaine attenuates DEN-induced damage in rat liver and reverses DEN-induced changes in mRNA levels.</p
Deep underground laboratory measurement of C(,)O in the Gamow windows of the - and -processes
The C(,)O reaction is the main neutron source for
the slow-neutron-capture (s-) process in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars and for
the intermediate (i-) process. Direct measurements at astrophysical energies in
above-ground laboratories are hindered by the extremely small cross sections
and vast cosmic-ray induced background. We performed the first consistent
direct measurement in the range of 0.24 MeV to 1.9 MeV using the
accelerators at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) and Sichuan
University. Our measurement covers almost the entire i-process Gamow window in
which the large uncertainty of the previous experiments has been reduced from
60\% down to 15\%, eliminates the large systematic uncertainty in the
extrapolation arising from the inconsistency of existing data sets, and
provides a more reliable reaction rate for the studies of the s- and
i-processes along with the first direct determination of the alpha strength for
the near-threshold state
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