Influence of volute basic circle diameter on the pressure fluctuations and flow noise of a low specific speed sewage pump

To reveal the effect of the volute basic circle diameter D3 on the performance of low specific sewage pumps, three different volutes equipped with the same impeller were designed for a low specific speed sewage pump. The global characteristics were obtained from the experiments, which presented that the volute basic circle diameter affects pump performance obviously. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was adopted to analyze the flow in the pump, as well as the velocity and pressure fields. Acoustic software LMS Virtual.Lab was adopted to analyze the acoustic field characteristics of the different models. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology was adopted to verify the results obtained by CFD and the qualitative agreement of the velocity obtained by CFD numerical calculation and PIV measurement is very good. It shows that the volute basic circle diameter has a small influence on the velocity distribution in the impeller. However, it changes the flow in the volute significantly. As D3 increases, the 2D streamline smoothens and the velocity distribution becomes uniform, whereas the pressure fluctuations and radial force of the impeller weaken. Furthermore, when the volute basic circle diameter increases to a certain extent, the pressure fluctuations almost have no change. The flow induced noise in volute A# is the largest, whereas it is the smallest in volute B#. There is an optimal volute basic circle diameter for a pump with ultra-thick blade not only to achieve the highest efficiency, but also to achieve excellent operating stability

New insights into β-glucan-enhanced immunity in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides by transcriptome and intestinal microbial composition

β-glucan is widely used in aquaculture due to its immunostimulatory effects, but the specific effect and potential regulatory mechanism on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are still unclear. Here, we evaluated the effects of β-glucan on growth, resistance to Aeromonas schubertii, intestinal health, and transcriptome of largemouth bass to reveal the potential regulators, metabolic pathways, and altered differential microbiota. Four experimental diets were designed with β-glucan supplementation levels of 0 (control), 100 (LA-100), 200 (MA-200), and 300 (HA-300) mg kg-1, and each diet was fed to largemouth bass (79.30 ± 0.50 g) in triplicate for 70 days, followed by a 3-day challenge experiment. Results showed that different β-glucan supplementations had no significant effects on growth performance and whole-body composition. Fish fed a diet with 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan significantly increased the activity of lysozyme than those fed diets with 0 and 100 mg kg-1 β-glucan. In addition, the survival rate of largemouth bass in β-glucan supplementation groups was significantly higher than the control group at 12- and 24-h challenge by Aeromonas schubertii. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 1,245 genes were differentially expressed [|log2(fold change)| ≥1, q-value ≤0.05], including 109 immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Further analysis revealed that significantly upregulated and downregulated DEGs associated with immunity were mapped into 12 and 24 pathways, respectively. Results of intestinal microflora indicated that fish fed a diet with 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan had higher bacterial richness and diversity as evaluated by Sobs, Chao, Ace, and Simpson indices, but no significant differences were found in the comparison groups. Furthermore, 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan significantly increased the relative abundance of Mycoplasma and decreased Proteobacteria (mainly Escherichia-Shigella and Escherichia coli) and Bacillus anthracis in largemouth bass intestinal microflora. The findings of this study provided new insights that will be valuable in future studies to elucidate the mechanism of immunity enhancement by β-glucan

HackMan: hacking commodity millimeter-wave hardware for a measurement study

The extremely high frequency of Millimeter-Wave technology warrants Gbps throughput for the next-generation wireless communication systems, but mmWave signals also suffer from severe path loss due to high attenuation. To compensate for this loss, mmWave radios establish communication links via directional beams so as to increase channel gains and communication range. Until recently, the measurement studies on mmWave technology were mainly based on prototypes built from band-limited Software Defined Radio, which could not characterize performance in realistic settings. Latest studies using commodity hardware reports straightforward measurements on the impact of environment settings but did not present deep analysis on the correlations of low-layer information. Meanwhile, those studies lack the ability to configure commodity devices under controlled settings, for instance, a single beam pattern for experimentation, thus failing to perform deeper analysis on low-layer protocol parameters. In this paper, we conduct extensive measurements in typical indoor settings, utilizing 802.11ad-compliant commodity hardware. Different from earlier studies, we hack the firmware and gain the privilege to modify physical layer settings online, enabling us to gain more insights under controlled settings.Essentially, we have demonstrated that (1) Signal-to-Noise Ratio, the criteria for beam control, may not be positively correlated with throughput, (2) sticking to a single beam pattern during data transmission can lead to both channel gains and throughput improvement, and (3) only independent cross-links could interfere with each other while multi-links coordinated by one AP experience no interference. These insights lead us to rethink the existing beam control policy

Online Distribution Network Scheduling via Provably Robust Learning Approach

Distribution network scheduling (DNS) is the basis for distribution network management, which is computed in a periodical way via solving the formulated mixed-integer programming (MIP). To achieve the online scheduling, a provably robust learn-to-optimize approach for online DNS is proposed in this paper, whose key lies in the transformation of the MIP-based DNS into the simple linear program problem with a much faster solving time. It formulates the parametric DNS model to construct the offline training dataset and then proposes the provably robust learning approach to learn the integer variables of MIP. The proposed learning approach is adversarial to minor perturbation of input scenario. After training, the learning model can predict the integer variables to achieve online scheduling. Case study verifies the acceleration effectiveness for online DNS

Abnormal expression of LCA and CD43 in SCLC: a rare case report and brief literature review

Abstract Background To present an unusual case of abnormal LCA expression and CD43 in SCLC and to review the reported literature to avoid potential diagnostic pitfalls. Case presentation A 73-year-old male patient suffered from persistent back pain for more than one month. MRI revealed a compression fracture of the L1-L5 vertebra. A CT scan revealed multiple nodules and masses at the left root of the neck, lung hilum and mediastinum, and multiple areas of bony destruction of the ribs. Histology of the tumor revealed that small and round cells were arranged in nests with areas of necrosis. The tumor cells were round to ovoid with scant cytoplasm and indistinct cell borders. The nuclear chromatin was finely granular, and the nucleoli were absent or inconspicuous. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin, TTF-1, POU2F3, LCA, and CD43. Conclusion This report highlights a potential diagnostic pitfall in the diagnosis of SCLC, urges pathologists to exercise caution in cases of LCA and CD43 positivity and illustrates the need for further immunohistochemical studies to avoid misdiagnosis

DataSheet_1_New insights into β-glucan-enhanced immunity in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides by transcriptome and intestinal microbial composition.docx

β-glucan is widely used in aquaculture due to its immunostimulatory effects, but the specific effect and potential regulatory mechanism on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are still unclear. Here, we evaluated the effects of β-glucan on growth, resistance to Aeromonas schubertii, intestinal health, and transcriptome of largemouth bass to reveal the potential regulators, metabolic pathways, and altered differential microbiota. Four experimental diets were designed with β-glucan supplementation levels of 0 (control), 100 (LA-100), 200 (MA-200), and 300 (HA-300) mg kg-1, and each diet was fed to largemouth bass (79.30 ± 0.50 g) in triplicate for 70 days, followed by a 3-day challenge experiment. Results showed that different β-glucan supplementations had no significant effects on growth performance and whole-body composition. Fish fed a diet with 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan significantly increased the activity of lysozyme than those fed diets with 0 and 100 mg kg-1 β-glucan. In addition, the survival rate of largemouth bass in β-glucan supplementation groups was significantly higher than the control group at 12- and 24-h challenge by Aeromonas schubertii. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 1,245 genes were differentially expressed [|log2(fold change)| ≥1, q-value ≤0.05], including 109 immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Further analysis revealed that significantly upregulated and downregulated DEGs associated with immunity were mapped into 12 and 24 pathways, respectively. Results of intestinal microflora indicated that fish fed a diet with 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan had higher bacterial richness and diversity as evaluated by Sobs, Chao, Ace, and Simpson indices, but no significant differences were found in the comparison groups. Furthermore, 300 mg kg-1 β-glucan significantly increased the relative abundance of Mycoplasma and decreased Proteobacteria (mainly Escherichia-Shigella and Escherichia coli) and Bacillus anthracis in largemouth bass intestinal microflora. The findings of this study provided new insights that will be valuable in future studies to elucidate the mechanism of immunity enhancement by β-glucan.</p