Plasma-enabled catalytic steam reforming of toluene as a biomass tar surrogate: Understanding the synergistic effect of plasma catalysis

In this study, steam reforming of toluene was carried out in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor combined with Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts. The effect of reaction temperature, calcination temperature of catalysts, and relative permittivity of packing materials, on the reaction performance and synergistic effect of plasma catalysis was investigated. The results showed that toluene conversion decreased initially and then increased with increasing temperature, due to a decreasing average reduced electric field and increasing catalytic activity at higher temperatures. At 450 °C, the process achieved a high toluene conversion of 87.1%, a total gas yield of 72.6%, and an energy efficiency of 18.2 g/kWh, demonstrating the potential of this approach for sustainable hydrogen production. Catalysts prepared at lower calcination temperatures or with higher relative permittivity packing materials perform better, owing to the larger Ni surface area available for catalytic reactions and the higher surface discharge facilitating the occurrence of surface reactions. In addition, the synergistic capacity in terms of toluene conversion and gas production exhibited a positive relationship with the metal surface area of catalysts and the relative permittivity of packing materials, while the relationship between reaction temperature and toluene conversion was negative

Monitoring tritrophic biocontrol interactions between Bacillus spp., Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, tropical race 4 and banana plants in vivo based on fluorescent transformation system

Bacillus spp. are effective biocontrol agents for Fusarium wilt of banana, tropical race 4 (TR4). This study explores the colonization by B. subtilis, B. velezensis and B. amyloliquefaciens of host banana plants and elucidates the mechanism of antagonistic TR4 biocontrol. The authors selected one B. subtilis strain, three B. velezensis strains and three B. amyloliquefaciens strains that are proven to significantly inhibit TR4 in vitro, optimized the genetic transformation conditions and explored their colonization process in banana plants. The results showed that we successfully constructed an optimized fluorescent electro-transformation system (OD600 of bacteria concentration = 0.7, plasmid concentration = 50 ng/μL, plasmid volume = 2 μL, transformation voltage = 1.8kV, transformation capacitance = 400Ω) of TR4-inhibitory Bacillus spp. strains. The red fluorescent protein (RFP)-labelled strains were shown to have high stability with a plasmid-retention frequency above 98%, where bacterial growth rates and TR4 inhibition are unaffected by fluorescent plasmid insertion. In vivo colonizing observation by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that Bacillus spp. can colonize the internal cells of banana plantlets roots. Further fluorescent observation by (LSCM) showed these RFP-labelled bacteria exhibit chemotaxis (chemotaxis ratio was 1.85±0.04) towards green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labelled TR4 hyphae in banana plants. We conclude that B. subtilis, B. velezensis and B. amyloliquefaciens can successfully colonize banana plants and interact with TR4. Monitoring its dynamic interaction with TR4 and its biocontrol mechanism is under further study

A biological product of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713 strain for promoting banana plant growth and modifying rhizosphere soil microbial diversity and community composition

IntroductionBananas are not only an important food crop for developing countries but also a major trading fruit for tropical and semitropical regions, maintaining a huge trade volume. Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense is becoming a serious challenge to the banana industry globally. Biological control has the potential to offer both effective and sustainable measures for this soil-borne disease.MethodsIn order to explore the biocontrol effects of the biological agent Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713 strain on banana plants, two cultivars, Brazilian and Yunjiao No. 1, with varied resistance to FWB, were used in greenhouse pot experiments.ResultsResults showed that the plant height and pseudostem diameter of banana-susceptible cultivar Brazilian increased by 11.68% and 11.94%, respectively, after QST713 application, while the plant height and pseudostem diameter of resistant cultivar Yunjiao No. 1 increased by 14.87% and 12.51%, respectively. The fresh weight of the two cultivars increased by 20.66% and 36.68%, respectively, indicating that this biological agent has potential effects on plant growth. Analysis of the rhizosphere soil microbial communities of two different cultivars of banana plants showed that TR4 infection and B. amyloliquefaciens QST713 strain application significantly affected the bacterial and fungal diversity of Yunjiao No. 1, but not in the cultivar Brazilian. In addition, TR4 infection and QST713 application changed the bacterial community composition of both banana cultivars, and the fungal community composition of Yunjiao No. 1 also changed significantly. Relevance analysis indicated that the relative richness of Bacillus and Pseudomonas in the rhizosphere of both cultivars increased significantly after QST713 application, which had a good positive correlation with plant height, pseudostem girth, aboveground fresh weight, leaf length, and leaf width.DiscussionTherefore, the outcome of this study suggests that the biological agent QST713 strain has potential application in banana production for promoting plant growth and modification of soil microbial communities, particularly in the TR4-infected field

Raman Characteristics Analysis of Fuel-cladding Chemical Interaction Layer for Intact and Leak PWR Fuel Rods

Zirconium alloys have long been used as cladding materials for pressurized water reactors (PWR) due to excellent corrosion resistance and low thermal neutron capture cross-section. With the increasing of burnup, the chemical interaction layer has formed in the gap due to fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI), which has an important influence on the thermal conductivity of fuel-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI). In addition, if the fuel rods are leaked and the coolant enters the inner side of the cladding, the FCCI will be significantly intensified. The FCCI layer is affected by factors such as burnup, fuel rod leak, neutron irradiation, fission products, stress, temperature, etc., the composition and distribution of FCCI layer phase structure are relatively complex. In recent years, with the development of Raman spectroscopy technology, Raman spectrometer has been applied to the study of radioactive materials (such as fuel pellets, oxide film). In this paper, in order to study phase structure composition and influencing factors of FCCI layer of intact and leaked fuel rods in PWR, the FCCI layers of intact and leak fuel rods with 45 GW·d/tU and 41 GW·d/tU burnup were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the FCCI layer with uniform circumferential thickness of 14.19 μm is formed in the intact fuel rod, which is mainly composed of two different phase structure regions: the mixed phase region of monocline and teteal zirconia near the cladding interface. In the range of about 7 μm near the cladding interface, an obvious 705 cm-1 spectral peak is observed, which reflects the influence of interface compressive stress and irradiation defects. The leak fuel rods forms a chemical interaction layer with circumferential thickness varying from 37 μm to 61 μm, which is mainly composed of two different morphologies and phase structures: the monoinclined zirconia region with porosity and crack which is near the cladding interface; the amorphous phase region which is near the fuel pellet. The distribution of phase structure of chemical interaction layer and its transition factors were discussed. The stability of teteal zirconia in the chemical interaction layer of intact fuel rods is related to interfacial compressive stress, neutron irradiation defects and fission product interaction. The existence of monoclinic zirconia in the chemical interaction layer of leak fuel rods is mainly due to stress relaxation and oxygen stoichiometry

A Novel BBO Algorithm Based on Local Search and Nonuniform Variation for Iris Classification

In order to improve the iris classification rate, a novel biogeography-based optimization algorithm (NBBO) based on local search and nonuniform variation was proposed in this paper. Firstly, the linear migration model was replaced by a hyperbolic cotangent model which was closer to the natural law. And, the local search strategy was added to traditional BBO algorithm migration operation to enhance the global search ability of the algorithm. Then, the nonuniform variation was introduced to enhance the algorithm in the later iteration. The algorithm could achieve a stronger iris classifier by lifting weaker similarity classifiers during the training stage. On this base, the convergence condition of NBBO was proposed by using the Markov chain strategy. Finally, simulation results were given to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed iris classification method

Liquid Crystal-Tuned Planar Optics in Terahertz Range

Recently, terahertz waves of higher frequencies compared to microwave and radio frequency have shown great potential in radar detection and high-speed wireless communication. To spatially control the wavefront of terahertz beams, various novel components, such as terahertz filters, polarization converters and lenses, have been investigated. Metamaterials and metasurfaces have become the most promising technique for the free manipulation of terahertz waves. Metadevices integrated with liquid crystals have been widely used in active terahertz devices. In this review, the birefringence of liquid crystals in the terahertz band and terahertz devices based on liquid crystals are summarized. By integrating liquid crystals with plasmonic metamaterials, the functions become dynamically adjustable and are reconstructed. Utilizing liquid crystals to change the resonance of metamaterials, tunable filters, absorbers, and programmable metasurfaces are realized. To solve the problem of low efficiency, terahertz wavefront shaping devices based on dielectric metasurfaces and liquid crystals, such as a variable deflection angle grating and zoom metalenses, are presented. Finally, we discuss and anticipate the future developments of liquid-crystal-integrated meta-devices, which will inspire broad applications in terahertz communication and imaging

Clinical efficacy of styloid incision truncation via percutaneous punching in treating styloid process syndrome

Abstract Objective To clarify the clinical efficacy of styloid incision truncation via percutaneous punching in treating styloid process (styloid) syndrome. Methods The clinical data of 40 styloid syndrome patients treated in our hospital from July 2018 to August 2021 were chosen and divided into an observation group and a control group in a random manner, with 20 cases in each. The control group received treatment with styloid truncation via an external cervical approach, and the observation group received treatment with styloid incision truncation via percutaneous punching. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of truncated styloid, clinical efficacy, pain scores, postoperative complications and inflammatory cytokine levels were assessed in the both groups. Results The intraoperative blood loss, operation time, length of truncated styloid and hospital stay in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). VAS pain scores were higher in both groups after the operation compared to before the operation. However, the observation group showed a statistically significant reduction in comparison with the control group (P < 0.05). The treatment effectiveness and complication rates of the two groups exhibited significant differences (P < 0.05). After the operation, TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6 levels in both groups were elevated compared to those before the operation. The observation group, however, showed significant depletion compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Styloid incision truncation via percutaneous punching was not only effective in treating styloid syndrome, but also caused less trauma and fewer complications. It promotes patient recovery and requires a simple operation, making it worthy of promotion in hospitals

Influence of Risky Driving Behavior and Road Section Type on Urban Expressway Driving Safety

The causes of traffic crashes are complex and uncertain, among which the risky driving behaviors of drivers and the types of road sections in high-crash areas are all critical influencing factors. We used ArcGIS software to draw traffic heat maps under different thresholds to prevent the occurrence of traffic crashes accurately and effectively according to the vehicle GPS data of urban expressways in Jinan City, Shandong Province. This paper studied the relationship between risky driving behaviors (rapid acceleration, rapid deceleration, and overspeed) and road types with traffic crashes. The traffic safety evaluation model of urban expressways based on ordered logistic was established to predict the safety level of the urban expressway. The model&rsquo;s accuracy was 85.71%, and the applicability was good. The research results showed that rapid deceleration was the most significant influencing factor of crashes on urban expressways. When the vehicle deceleration was less than or equal to &minus;4 m/s2, the probability of a crash was 22.737 times greater than when the vehicle deceleration was at &minus;2 to &minus;2.5 m/s2; when the vehicle acceleration was greater than or equal to 3 m/s2, the probability of a crash was 19.453 times greater than when the vehicle acceleration was at 1 to 1.5 m/s2. The likelihood of a crash at a road section with a ramp opening was 8.723 times greater than that of a crash at a non-ramp opening; the crash probability of a speeding vehicle was 7.925 times greater than that of a non-speeding vehicle; the likelihood of a crash on a curve was 6.147 times greater than that on a straight. The research results can provide adequate technical support for identifying high-risk sections of expressways and active early warning of traffic crashes

Research on Influencing Factors of Urban Road Traffic Casualties through Support Vector Machine

Urban road traffic safety has always been vital in transportation research. This paper analyzed the factors influencing the degree of traffic accident casualties on Jinan Jingshi Road and its branch roads, taking them as the study area for urban road traffic safety problems. Additionally, it used the application of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model, and a recursive feature elimination (RFE) to rank the contribution degree of the influencing factors. The results showed that driving on rainy days has a high probability of casualties, while the type of collision was a minimum influence factor. Additionally, on rainy days, cars were accident-prone road vehicles, and 8:00&ndash;12:00 and 18:00&ndash;22:00 were accident-prone periods. Based on the results, preventive measures were further put forward regarding the driver, road drainage capacity, policy management, and autopilot technology. This study aimed to guide urban traffic safety planning and provide a basis for developing traffic safety measures