Hair follicle development and related gene and protein expression of skins in Rex rabbits during the first 8 weeks of life

Objective We aimed to observe hair follicle (HF) development in the dorsal skin and elucidate the expression patterns of genes and proteins related to skin and HF development in Rex rabbits from birth to 8 weeks of age. Methods Whole-skin samples were obtained from the backs of Rex rabbits at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age, the morphological development of primary and secondary HFs was observed, and the gene transcript levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), epidermal growth factor (EGF), bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), transforming growth factor β-1, 2, and 3 (TGFβ-1, TGFβ-2, and TGFβ-3) were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Additionally, Wnt family member 10b (Wnt10b) and β-Catenin gene and protein expression were examined by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot, respectively. Results The results showed significant changes in the differentiation of primary and secondary HFs in Rex rabbits during their first 8 weeks of life. The IGF-I, EGF, TGFβ-2, and TGFβ-3 transcript levels in the rabbits were significantly lower at 2 weeks of age than at birth and gradually increased thereafter, while the BMP2 and TGFβ-1 transcript levels at 2 weeks of age were significantly higher than those at birth and gradually decreased thereafter. β-Catenin gene expression was also significantly affected by age, while the Wnt10b transcript level was not. However, the Wnt10b and β-catenin protein expression levels were the lowest at 2 and 4 weeks of age. Conclusion Our data showed that a series of changes in HFs in dorsal skin occurred during the first 8 weeks. Many genes, such as IGF-I, EGF, BMP2, TGFβ-1, TGFβ-2, TGFβ-3, and β-Catenin, participated in this process, and the related proteins Wnt10b and β-Catenin in skin were also affected by age

Process-Oriented Evaluation of Climate and Weather Forecasting Models

Realistic climate and weather prediction models are necessary to produce confidence in projections of future climate over many decades and predictions for days to seasons. These models must be physically justified and validated for multiple weather and climate processes. A key opportunity to accelerate model improvement is greater incorporation of process-oriented diagnostics (PODs) into standard packages that can be applied during the model development process, allowing the application of diagnostics to be repeatable across multiple model versions and used as a benchmark for model improvement. A POD characterizes a specific physical process or emergent behavior that is related to the ability to simulate an observed phenomenon. This paper describes the outcomes of activities by the Model Diagnostics Task Force (MDTF) under the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections (MAPP) program to promote development of PODs and their application to climate and weather prediction models. MDTF and modeling center perspectives on the need for expanded process-oriented diagnosis of models are presented. Multiple PODs developed by the MDTF are summarized, and an open-source software framework developed by the MDTF to aid application of PODs to centers’ model development is presented in the context of other relevant community activities. The paper closes by discussing paths forward for the MDTF effort and for community process-oriented diagnosis

Finite element simulation of water cooling process of steel strips on runout table

This study engages in acquiring reliable heat transfer data from experimental tests using a test facility of industrial scale for an effective FE simulation of the water cooling processes of steel strips on run-out table (ROT). General 2D FE programs are developed for the direct and inverse heat transfer analyses. Both the Flux Zoning Method (FZM) and Flux Marching Method (FMM) are proposed to specify the heat fluxes in the inverse analysis. Parametric studies have been conducted and show that the direct analysis program may produce results with a higher accuracy, and that the FZM and FZM are suitable for obtaining an accurate relationship between the heat flux and the surface temperature in the impingement zone and in the parallel zone, respectively. The direct numerical investigations show that the isothermal condition does not exist for thermocouples (TC) with separate measuring junction in the water cooling process, and that the temperature difference between the two separate TC wires is affected strongly by the conduction of the surface TC wires in the impingement zone and by the progressing speed of black zone front in the parallel zone, respectively. The numerical analyses also show that the horizontal distance between TCs should be less than 8-10 mm to warrant a real 2D inverse calculation, and that there is a minimum depth for the embedded TCs for an undisturbed surface temperature field. The inverse analysis results of experimental tests show that the heat transfer behaviour at the stagnation for stationary plates is mainly and greatly affected by the water temperature, slightly by the steel grade and hardly by water flow rate. By contrast, the cooling behaviour in the parallel zone is obviously affected by the flow rate and hardly by the water temperature. It is also found that the plate’s motion evidently reduces the heat flux magnitude. Extensive 1D simulations to the cooling processes of the steel strips on an industry ROT show that the final coiling temperatures of steel strips may be predicted with a reasonable accuracy. Also, initial studies show that 2D modellings may have modest impact on the accuracy of the coiling temperature prediction.Applied Science, Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, Department ofGraduat

Financial Support for Rural Cooperative Economy in China Based on Grey Correlation Analysis

This paper firstly analyzed current situations of financial support for rural cooperative economy in China and tested the correlation between rural finance and rural cooperative economy using the grey correlation analysis method. Results indicate that there is close relationship between amount, structure and efficiency of rural finance and development of rural cooperative economy. The amount of rural finance has the largest promotion function to development of rural cooperative economy, the next is rural finance structure, and the least is efficiency of rural finance. Based on research conclusions, it came up with pertinent policy recommendations

Structure of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in Three Generations of Climate Models

Abstract Through a large meridional transport of heat and freshwater, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) plays a fundamental role in the earth climate system. Yet, there exist significant biases in representing AMOC structures in climate models and it is unclear whether or to what extent the biases have reduced through different generations of climate models. To address this question, this study compared the AMOC represented in three phases of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) models with a similar horizontal resolution: CMIP3, CMIP5, and CMIP6. We found that (a) although the model spread is large, the multi‐model ensemble of each CMIP reproduced a similar AMOC magnitude and the overturning depth that are in a reasonable agreement with observations; (b) in each CMIP, there is a smaller temperature and salinity difference between the northward flowing top limb and the southward flowing second limb of the AMOC, which lead to a systematic bias of a weaker meridional transport of heat and freshwater; (c) these biases are generally similar in CMIP5 and CMIP6 and significantly improved from CMIP3

Study on the isothermal forging process of MB26 magnesium alloy adaptor

The isothermal forging process is an effective method to manufacture complex-shaped components of hard-to-work materials, such as magnesium alloys. This study investigates the isothermal forging process of an MB26 magnesium alloy adaptor with three branches. The results show that two-step forging process is appropriate to form the adaptor forging, which not only improves the filling quality but also reduces the forging load compared with one-step forging process. Moreover, the flow line is distributed along the contour of the complex-shaped adaptor forging

Study on the isothermal forging process of MB26 magnesium alloy adaptor

The isothermal forging process is an effective method to manufacture complex-shaped components of hard-to-work materials, such as magnesium alloys. This study investigates the isothermal forging process of an MB26 magnesium alloy adaptor with three branches. The results show that two-step forging process is appropriate to form the adaptor forging, which not only improves the filling quality but also reduces the forging load compared with one-step forging process. Moreover, the flow line is distributed along the contour of the complex-shaped adaptor forging

Multi-Objective Optimization Design of Key Parameters of a Stepless Flow Control System with Multi-System Coupling Characteristics

The stepless flow control system offers important energy-saving technology for reciprocating compressors in the petrochemical and oil refining industries. Optimizing the movement characteristics of the unloader and suction valve is vital to improving the energy-saving level of the system and reducing the overall operating cost. However, the system has many of the characteristics of multi-system coupling and multi-parameter crossover; thus, it is difficult to optimize the key control parameters. In this study, to optimize the system inlet pressure, return pressure, and return spring stiffness parameters, a working model of the flow control system based on multi-system coupling was established. Using the ejection and withdrawal speeds of the unloader, the flow displacement deviation, and the gas work deviation of the control system as the optimization parameters, we used the response surface method to establish an optimization proxy model between the objective function and key parameters. Additionally, verification of the model’s accuracy and sensitivity analyses were completed. Finally, a double optimization scheme based on a non-dominated genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) was proposed. Simulation and experimental results show that with optimization of the return spring, oil inlet pressure, and oil return pressure, the unloader’s kinematic characteristics were also optimized at full load. The impact energy of the ejector and withdrawal speed of the unloader were reduced, and the compressor flow control error was less than 5%, which effectively improved the comprehensive working performance of the stepless flow control system