Intrusion of polyethylene glycol into solid-state nanopores

The intrusion of PEG aqueous solution into solid-state-nanopores upon mechanical pressure is experimentally investigated. By using hydrophobic nanoporous silica with a broad range of pore sizes, the characteristic size of PEG chains in water while penetrating nanopores is measured and analyzed, which increases with molecular weight and decreases with concentration of PEG. Its sensitivity to molecular weight is relatively limited due to nano-confinement. The inclusion of PEG as an intruding liquid imposes a rate effect on the intrusion pressure, and inhibits the extrusion from the nanopores

Elastomeric cellular structure enhanced by compressible liquid filler

Elastomeric cellular structures provide a promising solution for energy absorption. Their flexible and resilient nature is particularly relevant to protection of human bodies. Herein we develop an elastomeric cellular structure filled with nanoporous material functionalized (NMF) liquid. Due to the nanoscale infiltration in NMF liquid and its interaction with cell walls, the cellular structure has a much enhanced mechanical performance, in terms of loading capacity and energy absorption density. Moreover, it is validated that the structure is highly compressible and self-restoring. Its hyper-viscoelastic characteristics are elucidated

Rate effect of liquid infiltration into mesoporous materials

Rate effect of liquid infiltration in mesopores is associated with both liquid viscosity and the solid–liquid interfacial effect.</p

Bridging Vision and Language Encoders: Parameter-Efficient Tuning for Referring Image Segmentation

Parameter Efficient Tuning (PET) has gained attention for reducing the number of parameters while maintaining performance and providing better hardware resource savings, but few studies investigate dense prediction tasks and interaction between modalities. In this paper, we do an investigation of efficient tuning problems on referring image segmentation. We propose a novel adapter called Bridger to facilitate cross-modal information exchange and inject task-specific information into the pre-trained model. We also design a lightweight decoder for image segmentation. Our approach achieves comparable or superior performance with only 1.61\% to 3.38\% backbone parameter updates, evaluated on challenging benchmarks. The code is available at \url{https://github.com/kkakkkka/ETRIS}.Comment: Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing. 14 pages, 8 figures. ICCV-202

Anticlockwise P-T evolution at ∼280 Ma recorded from ultrahigh-temperature metapelitic granulite in the Chinese Altai orogenic belt, a possible link with the Tarim mantle plume?

An ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metapelitic granulite assemblage consisting of garnet(g)–spinel(sp)–orthopyroxene(opx)-sillimanite(sil)–cordierite(cd)–ilmenite(ilm)–biotite(bi)–plagioclase(pl)–quartz(q) occurs within migmatitic paragneiss near Kalasu in the Chinese Altai, NW China. Textural relations, mineral compositions and P-T estimates, indicate three stages of mineral assemblages: (1) pre-peak prograde stage (M1) consisting of a sp–sil-bearing or sp–opx-bearing inclusion assemblage, with low-Al2O3 contents (4–5 wt.%) in orthopyroxene and P-T conditions of ∼7 kbar and ∼890 °C, (2) peak UHT stage (M2) comprising a g–opx–cd-bearing coarse-grained assemblage, with high-Al2O3 contents (8–9 wt.%) in orthopyroxene and peak conditions of ∼8 kbar and ∼970 °C, and (3) post-peak HT stage (M3) containing an oriented opx–bi–sil-bearing assemblage in matrix, with moderate amounts of Al2O3 (6–7 wt.%) in orthopyroxene and P-T conditions of 8–9 kbar and ∼870 °C. The three discrete stages define an anticlockwise P-T path involving initial prograde heating and post-peak near isobaric cooling. Such a near isobaric cooling anticlockwise P-T path suggests that UHT metamorphism likely occurred in an overall extensional tectonic setting with associated underplating of mantle-derived mafic magma. A SHRIMP zircon U–Pb age of 278 ± 2 Ma obtained from the metapelitic granulite indicates UHT metamorphism in the Altai orogen occurred during the Permian, coeval with spacially associated mantle-derived mafic intrusions (∼280 Ma) and the Tarim mantle plume (∼275 Ma). Thus, the Permian UHT metamorphism of the Chinese Altai is likely associated with underplating and heating of mantle-derived mafic magma as a result of the Tarim mantle plume.PostprintPeer reviewe

Pharmacokinetic Comparison of 20(R)- and 20(S)-Ginsenoside Rh1 and 20(R)- and 20(S)-Ginsenoside Rg3 in Rat Plasma following Oral Administration of Radix Ginseng Rubra and Sheng-Mai-San Extracts

Ginsenosides Rh1 and Rg3, as the main bioactive components from Ginseng, are effective for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Sheng-Mai-San (SMS), a classical complex prescription of traditional Chinese medicines, is composed of Radix Ginseng Rubra, Fructus Schisandrae, and Radix Ophiopogonis. In this research, a sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for stereoselective determination and pharmacokinetic studies of 20(R)- and 20(S)-ginsenoside Rh1 and 20(R)- and 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 epimers in rat plasma after oral administration of Radix Ginseng Rubra or SMS extracts. The main pharmacokinetic parameters including Tmax, Cmax, t1/2, and AUC were calculated by noncompartment model. Compared with Radix Ginseng Rubra, SMS could significantly increase the content of ginsenosides Rh1 and Rg3 in the decocting process. Ginsenosides Rh1 and Rg3 following SMS treatment displayed higher Cmax, AUC(0–t), and AUC0–∞ and longer t1/2 and tmax except for 20(R)-Rh1 in rat plasma. The results indicated SMS compound compatibility could influence the dissolution in vitro and the pharmacokinetic behaviors in vivo of ginsenosides Rh1 and Rg3, suggesting pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions between ginsenosides Rh1 and Rg3 and other ingredients from Fructus Schisandrae and Radix Ophiopogonis. This study would provide valuable information for drug development and clinical application of SMS

Energy absorption ability of buckyball C720 at low impact speed: a numerical study based on molecular dynamics

The dynamic impact response of giant buckyball C720 is investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The non-recoverable deformation of C720 makes it an ideal candidate for high-performance energy absorption. Firstly, mechanical behaviors under dynamic impact and low-speed crushing are simulated and modeled, which clarifies the buckling-related energy absorption mechanism. One-dimensional C720 arrays (both vertical and horizontal alignments) are studied at various impact speeds, which show that the energy absorption ability is dominated by the impact energy per buckyball and less sensitive to the number and arrangement direction of buckyballs. Three-dimensional stacking of buckyballs in simple cubic, body-centered cubic, hexagonal, and face-centered cubic forms are investigated. Stacking form with higher occupation density yields higher energy absorption. The present study may shed lights on employing C720 assembly as an advanced energy absorption system against low-speed impacts

Quasiparticle Swarm Optimization for Cross-Section Linear Profile Error Evaluation of Variation Elliptical Piston Skirt

Variation elliptical piston skirt has better mechanical and thermodynamic properties and it is widely applied in internal combustion engine in recent years. Because of its complex form, its geometrical precision evaluation is a difficult problem. In this paper, quasi-particle swarm optimization (QPSO) is proposed to calculate the minimum zone error and ellipticity of cross-section linear profile, where initial positions and initial velocities of all particles are generated by using quasi-random Halton sequences which sample points have good distribution properties and the particles’ velocities are modified by constriction factor approach. Then, the design formula and mathematical model of the cross-section linear profile of variation elliptical piston skirt are set up and its objective function calculation approach using QPSO to solve the minimum zone cross-section linear profile error is developed which conforms to the ISO/1101 standard. Finally, the experimental results evaluated by QPSO, particle swarm optimization (PSO), improved genetic algorithm (IGA) and the least square method (LSM) confirm the effectiveness of the proposed QPSO and it improves the linear profile error evaluation accuracy and efficiency. This method can be extended to other complex curve form error evaluation such as cam curve profile

A Super Energy Mitigation Nanostructure at High Impact Speed Based on Buckyball System

The energy mitigation properties of buckyballs are investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A one dimensional buckyball long chain is employed as a unit cell of granular fullerene particles. Two types of buckyballs i.e. C60 and C720 with recoverable and non-recoverable behaviors are chosen respectively. For C60 whose deformation is relatively small, a dissipative contact model is proposed. Over 90% of the total impact energy is proven to be mitigated through interfacial reflection of wave propagation, the van der Waals interaction, covalent potential energy and atomistic kinetic energy evidenced by the decent force attenuation and elongation of transmitted impact. Further, the C720 system is found to outperform its C60 counterpart and is able to mitigate over 99% of the total kinetic energy by using a much shorter chain thanks to its non-recoverable deformation which enhances the four energy dissipation terms. Systematic studies are carried out to elucidate the effects of impactor speed and mass, as well as buckyball size and number on the system energy mitigation performance. This one dimensional buckyball system is especially helpful to deal with the impactor of high impact speed but small mass. The results may shed some lights on the research of high-efficiency energy mitigation material selections and structure designs