Dynamic response of continuous beams with discrete viscoelastic supports under sinusoidal loading

Analysis of vibrations of continuous beams with discrete viscoelastic supports has been established through theoretical modeling and a finite element analysis. The theoretical model is based on the Euler-Bernoulli theory, and the Ritz approach was employed to obtain numerical results from which the attenuation of the beam's vibration was obtained. In parallel, a finite element analysis was carried out in ABAQUS using 3D beam elements. It is shown that the results of theoretical calculation agree well with those of the finite element analysis. Both models were applied to explore geometric and design variations, and then to a full model of a bridge expansion unit as an application example. The vibration of the beams in the design, the influence of the stiffness and the viscous damping coefficient of the supports were discussed, demonstrating the models' usefulness in helping with design optimization. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

Amine-responsive bilayer films with improved illumination stability and electrochemical writing property for visual monitoring of meat spoilage

Amine-responsive bilayer films were developed by using agar (AG), anthocyanins (AN), gellan gum (GG) and TiO2 nanoparticles for visual monitoring of meat spoilage. The AG-AN layer worked as the sensing layer to volatile amines, while GG-TiO2 layer served as the light barrier layer and simultaneously the conducting layer to improve the illumination stability and electrochemical writing ability of the AG-AN layer, respectively. The Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra indicated the successful fabrication of bilayer films. Illumination experiments showed that the incorporation of TiO2 in the GG-TiO2 layer significantly improved the illumination stability of AN in the AG-AN layer. Meanwhile, electrochemical writing process could be easily conducted on the AG-AN layer in the presence of GG-TiO2 layer, indicating the feasibility of ink-free printing on bilayer biopolymer films. The AG-AN/GG-2%TiO2 film presented a limit of detection of 0.018 mM to trimethylamine (TMA), a typical basic gas generated during meat spoilage. Based on its good illumination stability and sensing ability to basic gases, the AG-AN/GG-2%TiO2 film exhibited rose red-to-green color changes along with the spoilage of pork and silver carp, indicating its great potential for monitoring meat spoilage in intelligent food packaging

Nucleocapsid Protein as Early Diagnostic Marker for SARS

Serum samples from 317 patients with patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) were tested for the nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-associated coronavirus, with sensitivities of 94% and 78% for the first 5 days and 6–10 days after onset, respectively. The specificity was 99.9%. N protein can be used as an early diagnostic maker for SARS

Expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in Mouse Renal Tubules during Kidney Development

Bcl-2 and Bax play an important role in apoptosis regulation, as well as in cell adhesion and migration during kidney morphogenesis, which is structurally and functionally related to mitochondria. In order to elucidate the role of Bcl-2 and Bax during kidney development, it is essential to establish the exact location of their expression in the kidney. The present study localized their expression during kidney development. Kidneys from embryonic (E) 16-, 17-, 18-day-old mouse fetuses, and postnatal (P) 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 14-, 21-day-old pups were embedded in Epon. Semi-thin serial sections from two E17 kidneys underwent computer assisted 3D tubule tracing. The tracing was combined with a newly developed immunohistochemical technique, which enables immunohistochemistry on glutaraldehyde fixated plastic embedded sections. Thereby, the microstructure could be described in detail, and the immunochemistry can be performed using exactly the same sections. The study showed that Bcl-2 and Bax were strongly expressed in mature proximal convoluted tubules at all time points, less strongly expressed in proximal straight tubules, and only weakly in immature proximal tubules and distal tubules. No expression was detected in ureteric bud and other earlier developing structures, such as comma bodies, S shaped bodies, glomeruli, etc. Tubules expressing Bcl-2 only were occasionally observed. The present study showed that, during kidney development, Bcl-2 and Bax are expressed differently in the proximal and distal tubules, although these two tubule segments are almost equally equipped with mitochondria. The functional significance of the different expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in proximal and distal tubules is unknown. However, the findings of the present study suggest that the mitochondrial function differs between mature proximal tubules and in the rest of the tubules. The function of Bcl-2 and Bax during tubulogenesis still needs to be investigated

The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys

We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte

Studies of the decay \boldmath Ds+→K+K−μ+νμD^+_s\to K^+K^- \mu^+ \nu_{\mu}

The $D^+_s\to K^+K^-\mu^+\nu_\mu$ decay is studied based on 7.33 fb$^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ collision data collected with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies in the range from 4.128 to 4.226 GeV. The absolute branching fraction is measured as ${\mathcal B}(D^+_s\to \phi \mu^+\nu_\mu) = (2.25\pm 0.09 \pm 0.07) \times10^{-2}$, the most precise measurement to date. Combining with the world average of ${\mathcal B}(D^+_s\to \phi e^+\nu_e)$, the ratio of the branching fractions obtained is$\frac{{\mathcal B}(D^+_s\to \phi \mu^+\nu_\mu)}{{\mathcal B}(D^+_s\to \phi e^+\nu_e)} = 0.94\pm0.08$, in agreement with lepton universality. By performing a partial wave analysis, the hadronic form factor ratios at $q^{2}=0$ are extracted, finding $r_{V}=\frac{V(0)}{A_{1}(0)}=1.58\pm0.17\pm0.02$ and $r_{2}=\frac{A_{2}(0)}{A_{1}(0)}=0.71\pm0.14\pm0.02$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. No significant $S$-wave contribution from $f_0(980)\to K^+K^-$ is found. The upper limit $\mathcal{B}(D_s^+\to f_0(980)\mu^{+}{\nu}_{\mu}) \cdot{\mathcal B}(f_0(980)\to K^+K^-) < 5.45 \times 10^{-4}$ is set at 90\% confidence level.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2306.0519