Thermal properties of highly porous fibrous ceramics

Highly porous fibrous ceramics were fabricated by vacuum-molding the fiber slurry and sintering the dried felt. The materials comprised of a random network of ceramic fibers and air, with the pore sizes on micron scale. The effects of binder content and porosity on the microstructure and room-temperature thermal conductivity of fibrous ceramics were investigated. It was found that the room-temperature thermal conductivity increased with increasing binder content. In addition, the thermal conductivity decreased from 0.18 to 0.06 W/(m·K) when porosity increased from 73% to 90%, showing nearly a linear relationship. The high-temperature thermal conductivity in the range of 200-1200℃ for three different porosities were also investigated. The thermal conductivity increased as temperature and density increased. Furthermore, the porous ceramics were impregnated with silica aerogel to further lower the thermal conductivity. The room-temperature thermal conductivity decreased from 0.049 to 0.040 W/(m·K), and the back temperature decreased from 870℃ to 750℃ after the aerogel impregnation, showing better high-temperature insulation performance

Fabrication and microstructural characterization of silica aerogel by aging additional pressurization

SiO2 aerogel with Light-weight and low thermal conductivity is a promising candidate for thermal insulator used for aerospace vehicles. In this paper, we report the preparation and microstructural characterization of SiO2 aerogel by aging pressurization using supercritical drying method. The results showed that the aging pressurization can rapid increase the bulk density from 0.1g/cm3 to 0.45g/cm3 with the pressure changing from 200Pa to 600Pa. When the pressure increases to 800Pa, the density was increased to 0.46g/cm3 slowly. Further polycondensation is driven by the increasing of contact area between skeleton particles when the aging pressure increased. The grid structure became densification and saturation when the aging pressure approached 800Pa. SEM method gives the evidence of increase of aging pressure, which can help to increase the size of secondary grains. Nitrogen sorption-desorption measurements exhibit an unimodal pore distribution and low specific area and porosity with the increase of aging pressure. Real density test showed that the bulk density increased by pressure. Bulk density, gain size and pore structure distribution can be controlled effectively by aging pressurization

Using aquatic animals as partners to increase yield and maintain soil nitrogen in the paddy ecosystems

Whether species coculture can overcome the shortcomings of crop monoculture requires additional study. Here, we show how aquatic animals (i.e. carp, crabs, and softshell turtles) benefit paddy ecosystems when cocultured with rice. Three separate field experiments and three separate mesocosm experiments were conducted. Each experiment included a rice monoculture (RM) treatment and a rice-aquatic animal (RA) coculture treatment; RA included feed addition for aquatic animals. In the field experiments, rice yield was higher with RA than with RM, and RA also produced aquatic animal yields that averaged 0.52–2.57 t ha-1. Compared to their corresponding RMs, the three RAs had significantly higher apparent nitrogen (N)-use efficiency and lower weed infestation, while soil N contents were stable over time. Dietary reconstruction analysis based on 13C and 15N showed that 16.0–50.2% of aquatic animal foods were from naturally occurring organisms in the rice fields. Stable-isotope-labeling (13C) in the field experiments indicated that the organic matter decomposition rate was greater with RA than with RM. Isotope 15N labeling in the mesocosm experiments indicated that rice used 13.0–35.1% of the aquatic animal feed-N. All these results suggest that rice-aquatic animal coculture increases food production, increases N-use efficiency, and maintains soil N content by reducing weeds and promoting decomposition and complementary N use. Our study supports the view that adding species to monocultures may enhance agroecosystem functions

Charged Particle Tracking in Real-Time Using a Full-Mesh Data Delivery Architecture and Associative Memory Techniques

We present a flexible and scalable approach to address the challenges of charged particle track reconstruction in real-time event filters (Level-1 triggers) in collider physics experiments. The method described here is based on a full-mesh architecture for data distribution and relies on the Associative Memory approach to implement a pattern recognition algorithm that quickly identifies and organizes hits associated to trajectories of particles originating from particle collisions. We describe a successful implementation of a demonstration system composed of several innovative hardware and algorithmic elements. The implementation of a full-size system relies on the assumption that an Associative Memory device with the sufficient pattern density becomes available in the future, either through a dedicated ASIC or a modern FPGA. We demonstrate excellent performance in terms of track reconstruction efficiency, purity, momentum resolution, and processing time measured with data from a simulated LHC-like tracking detector

The Asian arowana (<i>Scleropages formosus</i>) genome provides new insights into the evolution of an early lineage of teleosts

The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), one of the world’s most expensive cultivated ornamental fishes, is an endangered species. It represents an ancient lineage of teleosts: the Osteoglossomorpha. Here, we provide a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of a female golden-variety arowana using a combination of deep shotgun sequencing and high-resolution linkage mapping. In addition, we have also generated two draft genome assemblies for the red and green varieties. Phylogenomic analysis supports a sister group relationship between Osteoglossomorpha (bonytongues) and Elopomorpha (eels and relatives), with the two clades together forming a sister group of Clupeocephala which includes all the remaining teleosts. The arowana genome retains the full complement of eight Hox clusters unlike the African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi), another bonytongue fish, which possess only five Hox clusters. Differential gene expression among three varieties provides insights into the genetic basis of colour variation. A potential heterogametic sex chromosome is identified in the female arowana karyotype, suggesting that the sex is determined by a ZW/ZZ sex chromosomal system. The high-quality reference genome of the golden arowana and the draft assemblies of the red and green varieties are valuable resources for understanding the biology, adaptation and behaviour of Asian arowanas