Molecular characterization and genetic diversity of parvoviruses prevalent in cats in Central and Eastern China from 2018 to 2022

Cats are a potential source of genetic diversity for parvoviruses. Herein, 134 samples were collected from cats with clinical gastroenteritis and analyzed for the presence of viral DNA via polymerase chain reaction, which revealed 48 positive samples. Identity analysis of VP2 nucleotide sequences indicated that these 48 strains, belonging to feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) and canine parvovirus type-2 (CPV-2; including new CPV-2a and CPV-2c genotypes), shared 94.59–99.94% nucleotide identity with the reference strains. The FPV strain F8 (isolated from Vietnam) appeared to be a recombinant of strains HB2003 and JS1901, whereas the Chinese CPV-2b strain BM-(11) isolated in 2011 was believed to be a recombinant of strains AH2008 and JS1901. In phylogenetic tree analysis based on VP2 nucleotide sequences, all obtained FPV strains and most reference FPV strains were clustered together, except strain BJ-22, which originated from monkeys. Further, two new CPV-2a strains (AH2005 and AH2008) were close to the newly reported Chinese CPV-2a strains but were distant from the other CPV-2a strains, namely CPV-339 (from the United States) and K022 (from South Korea). Additionally, the FPV and CPV-2 strains had high mutation rates in the antigenic regions of the VP2 protein. According to model prediction of the CPV–VP2 protein, these mutations may cause changes in the tertiary structure of VP2. The findings of this study can be used to improve the pre-evaluation of vaccination efficacy against diseases caused by FPV and CPV-2 in domestic cats and understand their genotypic transmission and mutation trends

Study on physicochemical properties of Al2O3-SiC-C castable for blast furnace

The physicochemical properties of a new Al O –SiC–C castable (ASCC) material were systematically investigated in this study. The results indicate that different heat treatment (HT) temperatures can lead to the formation of different phases, generating performance changes. A high HT temperature of 1773 K can create the mullite phase, serving as a strength-enhancer and shrinkage-compensator. The coexistence of carbon and corundum phases can effectively impede the corrosion caused by iron and slag, respectively, while the low carbon content in the ASCC can strengthen the iron attack resistance. The compressive strength of the ASCC showed a greater than 40% decrease after impurity element (K, Na, and Zn) corrosion experiments, which is greater than the change of the breaking strength. The larger atomic diameter of alkali metal could cause local relaxation and volume expansion of the aluminosilicate structure. The alkali metal scatters on the substrate; however, zinc exists in the form of ZnS and is primarily concentrated in the voids of the ASCC

Characterization of electrical explosion of Schottky diode for one-shot switch applications

The electrical explosion characteristics of Schottky diode for one-shot switch applications were acquired by analysis of photographs of high speed camera and current-voltage histories. Four types of connections among Schottky diode, top electrode and discharge capacitor were studied. Results show that type B has the longest time (1.4 ms) of optical radiation and highest energy consumption, which makes it easier to turn on the switch. The charge flux of plasma was determined to be 24.5 Q/(s m2) by parallel electrode plates method. Atomic emission spectroscopic measurements were devoted to determine plasma temperature and density during electrical explosion. Results show that temperature is between 4000 K and 5000 K, and density is about 1024 m−3. The one-shot switch based on ceramics has been fabricated and characterized and the results show that the peak current and the rise time are about 963.77 A and 381.6 ns, respectively