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.     

模拟研究和设计高强度低生热聚合物复合材料

利用分子动力学模拟方法研究聚合物复合材料中填料分布、聚合物链性质和体系微观结构对力学强度和动态滞后生热性能的影响.研究结果表明,提高填料分散程度和减少聚合物链末端数量都能有效降低聚合物复合材料的动态滞后生热,聚合物复合材料的力学强度和动态滞后生热随分子链刚性的增加而增加.但是,刚柔嵌段共聚体系的力学强度,在高拉伸状态下,甚至会优于全刚性聚合物体系.在前述研究基础上,笔者设计了一款以填料颗粒为交联点、刚/柔环状链段互穿的三维网络结构复合体系.研究结果表明,新型复合材料与传统聚合物相比,力学性能最高提升640％,生热性能降低40％.模拟研究结果期望能为分析聚合物复合材料的生热机制、设计兼具高力学强度和低生热性能的聚合物复合材料提供理论指导和新的思路.     

三维AoA目标跟踪的二次约束卡尔曼滤波算法

在基于到达角(angle of arrival, AoA)的三维目标跟踪中, 伪线性卡尔曼滤波具有稳定性高和计算复杂度低的优点, 但是严重的偏差问题使其跟踪精度迅速下降。针对该问题, 提出一种二次约束卡尔曼滤波(quadratic constraint Kalman filter, QCKF)算法。首先引入涉及所有观测噪声项的增广矩阵, 然后建立与线性卡尔曼滤波等价的目标函数并且附加含有二次项的约束条件, 以此降低偏差影响, 实现更准确的状态更新。QCKF算法采用广义特征值分解求解约束优化问题, 无法直接通过状态更新表达式推导其协方差矩阵, 因此利用约束条件以及矩阵扰动方法完成协方差矩阵更新。仿真分析表明, QCKF算法相较于其他非线性滤波算法具有更优的跟踪性能, 不仅在低噪声条件下可达到后验克拉美罗下界, 而且当噪声严重时能够显著降低跟踪误差, 并且计算开销不高。     

Molecular function of the novel α7β2 nicotinic receptor

The α7 nicotinic receptor is a promising drug target for neurological and inflammatory disorders. Although it is the homomeric member of the family, a novel α7β2 heteromeric receptor has been discovered. To decipher the functional contribution of the β2 subunit, we generated heteromeric receptors with fixed stoichiometry by two different approaches comprising concatenated and unlinked subunits. Receptors containing up to three β2 subunits are functional. As the number of β2 subunits increases in the pentameric arrangement, the durations of channel openings and activation episodes increase progressively probably due to decreased desensitization. The prolonged activation episodes conform the kinetic signature of α7β2 and may have an impact on neuronal excitability. For activation of α7β2 receptors, an α7/α7 binding-site interface is required, thus indicating that the three β2 subunits are located consecutively in the pentameric arrangement. α7-positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) are emerging as novel therapeutic drugs. The presence of β2 in the pentamer affects neither type II PAM potentiation nor activation by an allosteric agonist whereas it impairs type I PAM potentiation. This first single-channel study provides fundamental basis required to decipher the role and function of the novel α7β2 receptor and opens doors to develop selective therapeutic drugs.     

Macropinocytosis,mTORC1 and cellular growth control

The growth and proliferation of metazoan cells are driven by cellular nutrient status and by extracellular growth factors. Growth factor receptors on cell surfaces initiate biochemical signals that increase anabolic metabolism and macropinocytosis, an actin-dependent endocytic process in which relatively large volumes of extracellular solutes and nutrients are internalized and delivered efficiently into lysosomes. Macropinocytosis is prominent in many kinds of cancer cells, and supports the growth of cells transformed by oncogenic K-Ras. Growth factor receptor signaling and the overall metabolic status of the cell are coordinated in the cytoplasm by the mechanistic target-of-rapamycin complex-1 (mTORC1), which positively regulates protein synthesis and negatively regulates molecular salvage pathways such as autophagy. mTORC1 is activated by two distinct Ras-related small GTPases, Rag and Rheb, which associate with lysosomal membranes inside the cell. Rag recruits mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface where Rheb directly binds to and activates mTORC1. Rag is activated by both lysosomal luminal and cytosolic amino acids; Rheb activation requires phosphoinositide 3-kinase, Akt, and the tuberous sclerosis complex-1/2. Signals for activation of Rag and Rheb converge at the lysosomal membrane, and several lines of evidence support the idea that growth factor-dependent endocytosis facilitates amino acid transfer into the lysosome leading to the activation of Rag. This review summarizes evidence that growth factor-stimulated macropinocytosis is essential for amino acid-dependent activation of mTORC1, and that increased solute accumulation by macropinocytosis in transformed cells supports unchecked cell growth.     

烃族组成对柴油储存安定性影响研究

针对柴油储存过程中质量衰变问题，利用典型柴油样品，开展烃化合物对中国成品柴油储存安定性影响规律研究。烃组成分析测定结果表明，柴油中总芳烃和链烷烃之间存在很强的相关性（相关系数为0.90）。综合采用相关分析、逐步线性回归等方法，建立了安定性指标与烃组成的关联模型，拟合验证表明模型可靠，可以直接用于柴油储存安定性预测；研究确定了柴油储存安定性的主要影响物质，按照对储存安定性指标影响的严重程度将烃类物质分为三个等级，其中苊烯和三环芳烃对柴油质量衰变影响最大，链烷烃对十六烷值和热值影响最大。     

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.     

The Documentary Real: Thinking Documentary Aesthetics

In this article we consider the growing interest in recent years in the use of documentary strategies in the wold of contemporary art, film and performing arts and explore some of the central epistemological assumptions underpinning the persistent idea that the documentary should be equated with ‘non-fiction’. Following Stella Bruzzi we argue that if documentary theory maintains objectivity as the primary measure of value, it will inevitably and continuously arrive at the conclusion that the documentary genre is fundamentally flawed. Instead, we propose to move beyond the ‘realist epistemology’ of documentary theory and focus on the ‘documentary real’, i.e. the specific performativity of the reality constructed in and by the documentary genre. In the last paragraphs, we introduce the various articles that address the “documentary real” in this special issue.