Numerical investigation on heat transfer characterization of liquid lithium metal in pipe

Liquid Li metal is a promising nuclear reactor coolant; however, relevant research regarding its heat transfer characteristics remains insufficient. In this study, a steady-state two-dimensional mathematical model is established to describe the heat transfer process of liquid Li in a straight pipe. A numerical analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of inlet velocity, inlet temperature, and wall heat flux on heat transfer in liquid Li. The results indicate the advantage of using liquid Li for improving heat transfer at high inlet temperatures (> 1000 K) compared with using liquid sodium and lead–bismuth eutectic. Considering the mechanism of the outlet radial heat flow model, the ratio of turbulent to molecular diffusion coefficients presents a parabolic distribution along the radius of the pipe. Increasing the inlet velocity, decreasing the inlet temperature, and decreasing the wall heat flux can effectively weaken the dominant role of molecular heat transfer owing to the low Prandtl number of liquid Li. The heat transfer of liquid Li is investigated comprehensively in this study, and the results provide a basis for the practical application of liquid Li as a promising coolant.     

独蒜兰优质种苗快速培育研究

建立独蒜兰优质种苗快繁体系,为实现独蒜兰植物工业化育苗、保护野生植物资源和发展人工育种技术提供新的途径.本研究从不同基本培养基对独蒜兰种子萌发影响、丛生芽诱导增殖培养和无根苗生根壮苗等方面开展研究.筛选出影响独蒜兰种子萌发的最佳基本培养基为B5,培养30 d统计种子萌发率为92％;丛生芽诱导增殖的最佳培养基为B5+TDZ 2.0 mg/L+KT 0.5 mg/L+200.0 mg/L肌醇+2.0 g/L活性炭+20.0 g/L蔗糖,培养60 d丛生芽率诱导率为98.00％,平均产生丛生芽数为6.80个;最佳生根壮苗培养基为1/2MS+IBA 0.2 mg/L+6-BA 0.1 mg/L+2.0 g/L活性炭+30.0 g/L土豆泥+20.0 g/L蔗糖,培养60 d后统计生根率为100％,平均生根数为3.20条,平均鲜重为21.11 g.     

Improving the photocatalytic activity of graphitic carbon nitride by thermal treatment in a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere

Extending visible light absorption range and suppressing the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers are always important topics in developing efficient solar-driven photocatalysts. In this study, the thermal treatment process at 400 °C in a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere was applied to modify graphitic carbon nitride. Compared to the normal atmospheric hydrogen treatment process, this process has the merit of producing nitrogen deficient graphitic carbon nitride in high-yield. The optimal photocatalytic activity of modified graphitic carbon nitride was demonstrated by controlling the treatment duration in the hydrogen atmosphere.The changes in the crystal structure, microstructure and optical properties of carbon nitrides were investigated by several characterizations. The relationship between the photocatalytic activity and structures of graphitic carbon nitride was preliminarily established. The results obtained in this study could provide some new ways of improving the activity of graphitic carbon nitride based photocatalyst.     

A Method to Visualize the Skeleton Industrial Structure with Input-Output Analysis and Its Application in China,Japan and USA

The paper established a double filtering method (DFM) to visualize the skeleton industrial structure (SIS) of one economy and find its evolution rule. Different with the previous researches, this method is from a new view of industrial conjunctions combined by leading sectors to depict the industrial structure. It was proved that the leading sector selected by DFM must be key sector selected by Hirschman-Rasmussen method. Applied DFM to input-output tables of China, Japan and USA and MFA to Japan and USA, the results analysis showed that DFM could overtake the two main shortcomings of minimum flow analysis (MFA), scratch SIS of each economy with its own characteristics, visualize the general evolution rules of the industrial structure with crisscrossed conjunctions among leading sectors.     

Defining G protein-coupled receptor peptide ligand expressomes and signalomes in human and mouse islets

Introduction

Islets synthesise and secrete numerous peptides, some of which are known to be important regulators of islet function and glucose homeostasis. In this study, we quantified mRNAs encoding all peptide ligands of islet G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in isolated human and mouse islets and carried out in vitro islet hormone secretion studies to provide functional confirmation for the species-specific role of peptide YY (PYY) in mouse islets.

Materials and methods

GPCR peptide ligand mRNAs in human and mouse islets were quantified by quantitative real-time PCR relative to the reference genes ACTB, GAPDH, PPIA, TBP and TFRC. The pathways connecting GPCR peptide ligands with their receptors were identified by manual searches in the PubMed, IUPHAR and Ingenuity databases. Distribution of PYY protein in mouse and human islets was determined by immunohistochemistry. Insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion from islets was measured by radioimmunoassay.

Results

We have quantified GPCR peptide ligand mRNA expression in human and mouse islets and created specific signalomes mapping the pathways by which islet peptide ligands regulate human and mouse GPCR signalling. We also identified species-specific islet expression of several GPCR ligands. In particular, PYY mRNA levels were ~ 40,000-fold higher in mouse than human islets, suggesting a more important role of locally secreted Pyy in mouse islets. This was confirmed by IHC and functional experiments measuring insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion.

Discussion

The detailed human and mouse islet GPCR peptide ligand atlases will allow accurate translation of mouse islet functional studies for the identification of GPCR/peptide signalling pathways relevant for human physiology, which may lead to novel treatment modalities of diabetes and metabolic disease.

     

A New Method of Portfolio Optimization Under Cumulative Prospect Theory

In this paper,the portfolio selection problem under Cumulative Prospect Theory(CPT) is investigated and a model of portfolio optimization is presented.This model is solved by coupling scenario generation techniques with a genetic algorithm.Moreover,an Adaptive Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm(ARCGA) is developed to find the optimal solution for the proposed model.Computational results show that the proposed method solves the portfolio selection model and that ARCGA is an effective and stable algorithm.We compare the portfolio choices of CPT investors based on various bootstrap techniques for scenario generation and empirically examine the effect of reference points on investment behavior.     

A method for recovery of iron,titanium, and vanadium from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite

An innovative method for recovering valuable elements from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite is proposed. This method involves two procedures: low-temperature roasting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite and water leaching of roasting slag. During the roasting process, the reduction of iron oxides to metallic iron, the sodium oxidation of vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate, and the smelting separation of metallic iron and slag were accomplished simultaneously. Optimal roasting conditions for iron/slag separation were achieved with a mixture thickness of 42.5 mm, a roasting temperature of 1200°C, a residence time of 2 h, a molar ratio of C/O of 1.7, and a sodium carbonate addition of 70 wt%, as well as with the use of anthracite as a reductant. Under the optimal conditions, 93.67% iron from the raw ore was recovered in the form of iron nugget with 95.44% iron grade. After a water leaching process, 85.61% of the vanadium from the roasting slag was leached, confirming the sodium oxidation of most of the vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate during the roasting process. The total recoveries of iron, vanadium, and titanium were 93.67%, 72.68%, and 99.72%, respectively.     

A Novel Routing Method for Social Delay-Tolerant Networks

The lack of continuous connectivity and a complete path from source to destination makes node communication quite difficult in Delay-Tolerant Networks(DTNs). Most studies focus on routing problems in idealized network environments without considering social properties. Communication devices are carried by individuals in many DTNs; therefore, DTNs are unique social networks to some extent. To design efficient routing protocols for DTNs, it is important to analyze their social properties. In this paper, a more accurate and comprehensive metric for detecting the quality of the relationships between nodes is proposed, by considering the contact time, contact frequency, and contact regularity. An overlapping hierarchical community detection method is designed based on this new metric, and a tree structure is built. Furthermore, we exploit the overlapping community structure and the tree structure to provide message-forwarding paths from the source node to the destination node.The simulation results show that our Routing method based on Overlapping hierarchical Community Detection(ROCD) achieves better delivery rate than SimBet and Bubble Rap, the classic routing protocols, without affecting the average delay.     

Facile synthesis of flake-like dihydrate zinc oxalate particles

Monodispersed dihydrated zinc oxalate(ZnC_2O_4·2H_2O) particles with characteristic morphology were synthesized by aging a mixed solution of zinc nitrate(Zn(NO_3)_2) and sodium oxalate(Na_2C_2O_4) in the presence of a citrate ligand, with an average flat size of approximately 10–15 μm. The important parameters, including the solution pH values and the concentration of the zinc ions and citrate ligand, were investigated using a series of experiments. It is verified that the citrate ligand significantly affects the morphology of zinc oxalate particles, probably via its multiple roles of chelating, dispersing, and selective absorption. Thermodynamic equilibrium of the distribution of zinc species in an aqueous solution of Zn(Ⅱ)-citrate-oxalate-H_2O was estimated to explain the experimental results and to clarify the size and morphological evolution mechanism of the precipitated particles.