Internal Curing by SAP in Ultra-High Strength Concrete with Cement-Silica Fume-Fly Ash Binder

Super-absorbed polymer (SAP) is an effective internal curing materials for reducing autogenous shrinkage and improving cracking resistance of ultra-high-strength concrete (UHSC). This study investigated the compressive strength, shrinkage properties of UHSC with cement–silica fume–fly ash binder. The composition of the binder was designed using seven-batch factorial design method. The relationships between the binder composition and the properties were expressed in contours. Results showed that, silica fume could improve the compressive strength and total shrinkage of UHSC. However fly ash reduced the compressive strength and total shrinkage of UHSC to certain extent. On the other hand, under the internal curing of SAP, the silica fume and fly ash demonstrated positive synergistic effects on the compressive strength. At the early age of hydration, the effectiveness of internal curing first increases and then decreases with the increase of fly ash and silica fume content. However, at the later age of hydration, the effectiveness of internal curing by SAP reduced because of the pozzolanic activity of silica fume and fly ash

Unpacking Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Health: An Entrepreneurial Process Approach

What makes an entrepreneurial region stand out among the crowds? On the one hand, regional entrepreneurship literature highlights the impacts of regional context and structures on regional entrepreneurship, but fails to reveal the reciprocity between them, i.e., how regional entrepreneurship could in turn benefit regional context in order to sustain the new venture creation activities over time. On the other hand, although entrepreneurial ecosystem literature provides a new perspective to understand regional entrepreneurship in context by shedding light on the structures and building blocks of an entrepreneurial ecosystem, relatively less is known about what dimensions and factors contribute to the performance and competitiveness that signify the ecosystem’s ability to continuously create new ventures in the region. Hence, this research asks: how do we unpack the health of an entrepreneurial ecosystem? Following an inductive approach, a qualitative study on two exemplary entrepreneurial ecosystems – Silicon Valley, US, and Shenzhen, China – was conducted. For each ecosystem, its evolution over time was revealed first, highlighting critical events and start-ups in different lifecycle stages of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Then the entrepreneurial processes of key start-ups – Fairchild-Intel, Apple, Google and Tesla in Silicon Valley and Huawei, Tencent and DJI in Shenzhen – as well as their interactions with the ecosystems were analysed. The primary data is mainly from semi-structured interviews with informants pertinent to different players in the ecosystems, as well as employees who are familiar with the entrepreneurial processes of the key companies identified. Primary data was complemented and triangulated with secondary data mainly from academic papers, archives, online articles from reliable sources, books and monographs, as well as biographies of key companies and their founders, etc. The findings show that entrepreneurial ecosystem health consists of six dimensions: ecosystem resources (supply-side, intermediary, and demand-side resources), entrepreneurial process (resource acquisition in opportunity and organisational creation stages, resource exploitation in organisational creation and technology set-up stages, resource feedback in market exchange and exit stages), ecosystem performance (regional economic impact and regional entrepreneurship performance), ecosystem robustness (resource replenishment and recycling), ecosystem adaptation (resource diversification and exit), and enabling conditions for resource dynamisms (three sets of conditions for resource replenishment and recycling, for resource diversification, as well as for resource exit, respectively). This dissertation also sheds light on how resource acquisition, exploitation and feedback in individual entrepreneurial processes contribute to the resource dynamisms in entrepreneurial ecosystems. With these health dimensions and resource dynamisms, an integrated process model revealing how a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem continuously creates new ventures is provided. It is argued that, from the entrepreneurial process perspective, the health of an entrepreneurial ecosystem divulges its current performance in relation to new venture creation and the expectation of whether its ability to continuously create new ventures will be sustained or even grow. This dissertation seeks to contribute to entrepreneurial ecosystem literature with the conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystem health. The resource dynamisms bridge the gap between individual entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems and shed light on how resource-accessing behaviours in individual entrepreneurial processes contribute to the ecosystem-level resource dynamisms. The integrative process model contributes to the regional entrepreneurship literature by elaborating on the feedback impacts of regional entrepreneurship on regional resources. Finally, a resource-based view of entrepreneurial ecosystems is provided, which addresses the necessity of facilitating sufficient resource dynamisms within and outside of the ecosystems in pursuit of ecosystem health. This dissertation has implications for governments to guide their policy initiatives by informing them of the health of their regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in order to maximise the economic return and societal utilities. It also has implications for individual entrepreneurs in terms of their location choices and how to leverage resources of the ecosystem in which they reside

Digital image processing technology applied in level measurement and control system

AbstractAs the diversity of industrial processes, the common level meter devices are more impacted by external factors. This paper presents a new type of digital image processing technology for the level control system, combining with CCD camera technology as one of the measurement method. The fixed beam for measuring needs generated by the laser measurements, shape a special light point on the object surface, We can measure according to the changing scope of these points, or moving distance. From the experiment we can see, the CCD-based level measurement method not only has strong anti-interference ability, good usability, easy adaptability, but also applies to variety of more complex industrial applications

Ecosystem Strategy in Technology Licensing

The last few decades have witnessed a significant increase in licensing. Firms usually license in or out patents for technology acquisition or exploitation and other strategic purposes. Although literature has discussed the optimal licensing strategy for patent holders, the value of the technology is not completely exploited due to a few reasons. One of the challenges results from the presence of innovation ecosystem, where complementors have great impact on both licensors’ and licensees’ product performance. In this paper we focus on licensors’ ecosystem strategy, i.e. engaging complementors, in their licensing scenarios. By mathematical proof in an extended model based on the literature, we find that involving complementors is profitable for licensors, but involving too many would cause decrease in the profitability. We also conclude that the relative position of the licensor in the licensing competition (i.e. relative numbers of licensees) is the key to determine its ecosystem strategy. When the licensor licenses less aggressively than its competitors and has small transaction cost with complementors, involving complementors is a supportive strategy to its existing licensing strategy. However when the licensor is licensing more than others, engaging complementors would be unfavourable

Genetic markers for improved disease resistance in animals (BPI)

A method for determining improved disease resistance in animals is disclosed. The method assays for a novel genetic alleles of the BPI gene of the animal. The alleles are correlated with superior disease resistance. Novel nucleotide sequences, assays and primers are disclosed for the methods of the invention

The reliability of colorimetry is precise(ly) as expected.

Figure S6. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of the differentially expressed genes between C1 and C2. (JPG 403 kb

Ipomoeassin F Binds Sec61α to Inhibit Protein Translocation

Funding Information: We thank the Arkansas Nano & Bio Materials Characterization Facility at the Institute for Nano Sciences & Engineering for our imaging studies, and Prof Yoshito Kishi (Harvard University) for the kind gift of synthetic mycolactone A/B used by S.H. and R.S. W.S. is supported by Grant No. R15GM116032 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and startup funds from the University of Arkansas. This work was also supported in part by Grant No. P30 GM103450 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH and by seed money from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI). S.O’K. is the recipient of a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Doctoral Training Programme Award (BB/J014478/ 1), and S.H. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (204957/Z/16/Z). The alpha-1 antitrypsin work was supported by the Alpha-1 Foundation (J.I. and M.J.I.). J.I. and M.J.H. were supported by the intramural program of NCATS, National Institutes of Health, projects 1ZIATR000048-03 (J.I.) and ZIATR000063-04 (M.J.H.). R.S. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (202843/Z/16/Z). C.D. received funding from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Med́ icale, and the Fondation Raoul Follereau. N.B.’s synthesis and chemical biology studies of mycolactone were supported by CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Fondations Potier et Follereau, and the Investisse-ment d’Avenir (Idex Unistra). V.O.P. is supported by the Academy of Finland (Grants 289737 and 314672) and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation. Funding Information: We thank the Arkansas Nano & Bio Materials Characterization Facility at the Institute for Nano Sciences & Engineering for our imaging studies, and Prof Yoshito Kishi (Harvard University) for the kind gift of synthetic mycolactone A/B used by S.H. and R.S. W.S. is supported by Grant No. R15GM116032 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and startup funds from the University of Arkansas. This work was also supported in part by Grant No. P30 GM103450 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH and by seed money from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI). S.O'K. is the recipient of a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Doctoral Training Programme Award (BB/J014478/1), and S.H. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (204957/Z/16/Z). The alpha-1 antitrypsin work was supported by the Alpha-1 Foundation (J.I. and M.J.I.). J.I. and M.J.H. were supported by the intramural program of NCATS, National Institutes of Health, projects 1ZIATR000048-03 (J.I.) and ZIATR000063-04 (M.J.H.). R.S. holds a Welcome Trust Investigator Award in Science (202843/Z/16/Z). C.D. received funding from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, and the Fondation Raoul Follereau. N.B.'s synthesis and chemical biology studies of mycolactone were supported by CNRS, Universite de Strasbourg, Fondations Potier et Follereau and the Investissement d'Avenir (Idex Unistra). V.O.P. is supported by the Academy of Finland (Grants 289737 and 314672) and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2019 American Chemical Society.Ipomoeassin F is a potent natural cytotoxin that inhibits growth of many tumor cell lines with single-digit nanomolar potency. However, its biological and pharmacological properties have remained largely unexplored. Building upon our earlier achievements in total synthesis and medicinal chemistry, we used chemical proteomics to identify Sec61 alpha (protein transport protein Sec61 subunit alpha isoform 1), the pore-forming subunit of the Sec61 protein translocon, as a direct binding partner of ipomoeassin F in living cells. The interaction is specific and strong enough to survive lysis conditions, enabling a biotin analogue of ipomoeassin F to pull down Sec61 alpha from live cells, yet it is also reversible, as judged by several experiments including fluorescent streptavidin staining, delayed competition in affinity pulldown, and inhibition of TNF biogenesis after washout. Sec61 alpha forms the central subunit of the ER protein translocation complex, and the binding of ipomoeassin F results in a substantial, yet selective, inhibition of protein translocation in vitro and a broad ranging inhibition of protein secretion in live cells. Lastly, the unique resistance profile demonstrated by specific amino acid single-point mutations in Sec61 alpha provides compelling evidence that Sec61 alpha is the primary molecular target of ipomoeassin F and strongly suggests that the binding of this natural product to Sec61 alpha is distinctive. Therefore, ipomoeassin F represents the first plant-derived, carbohydrate-based member of a novel structural class that offers new opportunities to explore Sec61 alpha function and to further investigate its potential as a therapeutic target for drug discovery.Peer reviewe

The Local Origin of the Tibetan Pig and Additional Insights into the Origin of Asian Pigs

BACKGROUND: The domestic pig currently indigenous to the Tibetan highlands is supposed to have been introduced during a continuous period of colonization by the ancestors of modern Tibetans. However, there is no direct genetic evidence of either the local origin or exotic migration of the Tibetan pig. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We analyzed mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVI) variation of 218 individuals from seven Tibetan pig populations and 1,737 reported mtDNA sequences from domestic pigs and wild boars across Asia. The Bayesian consensus tree revealed a main haplogroup M and twelve minor haplogroups, which suggested a large number of small scale in situ domestication episodes. In particular, haplogroups D1 and D6 represented two highly divergent lineages in the Tibetan highlands and Island Southeastern Asia, respectively. Network analysis of haplogroup M further revealed one main subhaplogroup M1 and two minor subhaplogroups M2 and M3. Intriguingly, M2 was mainly distributed in Southeastern Asia, suggesting for a local origin. Similar with haplogroup D6, M3 was mainly restricted in Island Southeastern Asia. This pattern suggested that Island Southeastern Asia, but not Southeastern Asia, might be the center of domestication of the so-called Pacific clade (M3 and D6 here) described in previous studies. Diversity gradient analysis of major subhaplogroup M1 suggested three local origins in Southeastern Asia, the middle and downstream regions of the Yangtze River, and the Tibetan highlands, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We identified two new origin centers for domestic pigs in the Tibetan highlands and in the Island Southeastern Asian region

Chromatin dynamics during interphase and cell division:similarities and differences between model and crop plants

Genetic information in the cell nucleus controls organismal development, responses to the environment and finally ensures own transmission to the next generations. To achieve so many different tasks, the genetic information is associated with structural and regulatory proteins, which orchestrate nuclear functions in time and space. Furthermore, plant life strategies require chromatin plasticity to allow a rapid adaptation to abiotic and biotic stresses. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the organisation of plant chromatin and dynamics of chromosomes during interphase and mitotic and meiotic cell divisions for model and crop plants differing as to the genome size, ploidy and amount of genomic resources available. The existing data indicate that chromatin changes accompany most (if not all) cellular processes and that there are both shared and unique themes in the chromatin structure and global chromosome dynamics among species. Ongoing efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in chromatin organisation and remodeling have, together with the latest genome editing tools, potential to unlock crop genomes for innovative breeding strategies and improvements of various traits