9,228 research outputs found
sj-docx-1-ejo-10.1177_11206721241238389 - Supplemental material for Association between hyperglycemia during pregnancy and offspring's refractive error: A focused review
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-ejo-10.1177_11206721241238389 for Association between hyperglycemia during pregnancy and offspring's refractive error: A focused review by Yufan Guo, Jingru Lu, Linlin Zhu, Xuemei Hao and Kun Huang in European Journal of Ophthalmology</p
Applicability of Phase-Function Normalization Techniques for Radiation Transfer Computation
No full textThe applicability of recently-developed four phase-function (PF) normalization techniques for modeling radiation transfer in strongly anisotropic scattering media is intensively examined using the discrete-ordinate method. The three simple techniques via normalization of only the forward- and/or backward-scattering directions were shown to reduce normalization complexity whilst retaining diffuse radiation computation accuracy for Henyey-Greenstein (HG) PFs. For Legendre PFs, however, such simple techniques are found to result in unphysical negative PF value at one or few correction direction in some cases. Additionally, negative PF values can occur for these simple techniques for ballistic radiation transfer for both HG and Legendre PF types. If negative-intensity correction is applied, however, radiative heat transfer calculation can still converge regardless of the appearance of negative PF values. The relatively complex Hunter and Guo 2012 technique, in which normalization is realized through a correction matrix covering all discrete directions, is shown to be applicable for diffuse and ballistic radiation for both PF types.Peer reviewed
Pseudonocardia lutea sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from soil in Chad
No full textGao, Yuhang, Piao, Chenyu, Wang, Han, Shi, Linlin, Guo, Xiaowei, Song, Jia, Xiang, Wensheng, Zhao, Junwei, Wang, Xiangjing (2018): Pseudonocardia lutea sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from soil in Chad. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 68 (6): 1992-1997, DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.002780, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.00278
Flow and heat transfer inside a new diversion-type gas heating device
No full textThe present paper characterizes ethylene glycol flow and heat transfer inside a new diversion-type gas heating device. A 2-D natural convection heat transfer model was built and solved by the finite volume method with unstructured body-fitted grids. The numerical model was first validated through temperature comparison with experimental measurements in a conventional device structure. Then analyses and comparisons of the flow fields and temperature distributions with use of different guide plate structures were carried out. The numerical results show that using the guide plate structures can form better organized flow patterns that augment heat transfer. The heat required for heating up the gas passing through the heating device can be reduced by 3% via installing two guide plates.Peer reviewed
Reborn Translated: Xiaolu Guo as a World Author
No full textThis paper introduces the concept of “world author,” taking as its exemplar the Chinese British writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo. It investigates how Guo utilizes her bilingualism to construct and negotiate her creative agency, especially when dealing with the political and commercial forces imposed on diasporic authors. Through engaging with Rebecca Walkowitz’s idea of world literature as being “born translated,” I point out that the translational should not be limited to the thematic and representational arrangements internal to a given text. Instead, translation as movements between linguistic systems and media forms can generate multipleversions of a text, to the point that such translational multiplicity fundamentally challenges its supposed singularity. This argument is demonstrated with Guo’s self-translation of the stories of Fenfang and her filmic adaptation of the novel UFO in Her Eyes. Through these examples of what I call “translational rebirths,” I demonstrate the importance of paratextual details and intertextual connections between clusters of an author’s creative output for the interpretation and appreciation of l’oeuvre d’un auteur instead of une oeuvre d’art. This case study also shows the need for the academic debates on world literature to go beyond the singularity of texts and evaluative criteria of worldliness based on this assumption, so that the discipline can realize its full potential in accommodating multilingual transnational authors like Guo
Horticultural therapy for general health in the older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground With a pronounced and historically unprecedented tendency of population ageing, research on ageing and related disorders has been increasingly brought into focus. Horticultural therapy (HT), as an important role of social prescribing, has been an integrative for decades. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate HT for general health in older adults. Methods Electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Wanfang database, grey literature databases and clinical trials registers were searched from inception to March 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs (QRCTs) and the cohort studies about HT for adults aged over 60 were included in this study. Outcome measures were physical function, quality of life, BMI, mood tested by self-reported questionnaire and the expression of the immune cells. The study was registered under PROSPERO (CRD42019146184). Results Totally, fifteen studies (thirteen RCTs and two cohort studies) involving 1046 older participants were included. Meta-analysis showed that HT resulted in better quality of life (MD 2.09, 95% CI [1.33, 2.85], P<0. 01) and physical function (SMD 0.82, 95% [0.36, 1.29], P<0.01) compared with no-gardener; the similar findings showed in BMI (SMD -0.30, 95% [-0.57, -0.04], P = 0.02) and mood tested by self-reported questionnaire (SMD 2.80, 95% CI [1.82, 3.79], P<0. 01). And HT might be conducive on blood pressure and immunity, while all the evidence were moderate-quality judged by GRADE. Conclusions HT may improve physical function and quality of life in older adults, reduce BMI and enhance positive mood. A suitable duration of HT may be between 60 to 120 minutes per week lasting 1.5 to 12 months. However, it remains unclear as to what constitutes an optimal recommendation.</p
3-D simulation of gases transport under condition of inert gas injection into goaf
No full textTo prevent coal spontaneous combustion in mines, it is paramount to understand O2 gas distribution under condition of inert gas injection into goaf. In this study, the goaf was modeled as a 3-D porous medium based on stress distribution. The variation of O2 distribution influenced by CO2 or N2 injection was simulated based on the multi-component gases transport and the Navier-Stokes equations using Fluent. The numerical results without inert gas injection were compared with field measurements to validate the simulation model. Simulations with inert gas injection show that CO2 gas mainly accumulates at the goaf floor level; however, a notable portion of N2 gas moves upward. The evolution of the spontaneous combustion risky zone with continuous inert gas injection can be classified into three phases: slow inerting phase, rapid accelerating inerting phase, and stable inerting phase. The asphyxia zone with CO2 injection is about 1.25~2.4 times larger than that with N2 injection. The efficacy of preventing and putting out mine fires is strongly related with the inert gas injecting position. Ideal injections are located in the oxidation zone or the transitional zone between oxidation zone and heat dissipation zone.Peer reviewed
Anaerobic Fluidized-Bed Membrane Bioreactor for Treatment of Liquid Fraction of Sludge Digestate: Performance and Agricultural Reuse Analysis
No full textThe treatment of sludge digestion liquid is a big challenge in wastewater treatment. If treated as normal wastewater, large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus present in the sludge digestion liquid might be wasted when they could be reused in agricultural irrigation and reduce the consumption of artificial fertilizers. Thus, it is of utmost importance to deliver a simple and feasible strategy to treat sludge digestion liquid for agricultural reuse. In this study, a novel type of anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactor system (US-AnFMBR) was developed by combining an ultrasonic processing unit and biochar in AnFMBR. The improvement of sludge properties, removal of pollutants performance and membrane fouling mitigation were achieved in this novel system. The optimal dose of BC (biochar) was 2.5 g·L−1, and the optimal ultrasonic treatment conditions were 30 min at 26 W. The main contribution of ultrasound was to improve the activity of sludge microorganisms to adsorb and degrade more organic matter present in sewage. The system achieved the removal efficiencies of COD, NH4+-N and PO43−-P up to 89.41%, 49.29% and 54.83%, respectively, and had a better mitigation effect in terms of membrane fouling. On the one hand, the biochar addition for COD removal performance was mainly manifested in membrane rejection performance. On the other hand, the combination of low-cost biochar and AnFMBR can also provide new ideas for the recycling of agricultural waste for biochar production. However, regarding the removal efficiency of NH4+-N and PO43−-P, the US-AnFMBR system promoted the activity of starved sludge to preferentially absorb NH4+-N compared with PO43−-P by statistical analysis. The US-AnFMBR can reduce the viscosity of sludge and release more small molecular substances, thus better mitigating membrane fouling. Long-term operation performance also revealed the excellent stability of the sludge digestion liquid treatment. The US-AnFMBR system achieves the recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus resources for subsequent agricultural recycling, and avoids the eutrophication of water ecosystems. Reclaimed water meets the nutrient requirements of typical crops during the growing season. To a certain extent, carbon emission reductions in agriculture can be achieved
Heat Transfer and Thermodynamic Processes in Coal-Bearing Strata Under Spontaneous Combustion Condition
No full textSimulations and experiments have been carried out to investigate heat transfer and thermodynamic processes in coal-bearing strata in order to quantitatively understand the development of underground coal fires under spontaneous combustion condition. With controlled temperature and under lean oxygen conditions, the thermodynamic parameters for coal oxidation at different stages are experimentally determined in combination with simultaneous thermal analysis. A combined heat transfer model of conduction, convection and radiation with finite reactions is developed for the porous coal and rocks. The temperature distributions in the coal and roof strata at different times are simulated based on the single- and two-stage kinetic models, respectively, and compared with field geophysical prospecting. Effects of oxidation kinetic properties due to coal metamorphism on propagation of coal fires are examined. It reveals that a significant step change exists during the thermal process of coal fire caused by two-stage oxidation, and the coal rank of occurrence directly determines the spontaneous combustion period of underground coal fire.Peer reviewe
Spectral investigation of solar energy absorption and light transmittance in a water-filled prismatic glass louver
No full textWater-filled prismatic glass louver was proposed to save energy consumptions in buildings because such innovative louvers can harvest solar energy as well as improve daylighting quality rather than “block” sunlight like traditional louvers. To enable this technology the effectiveness of ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) energy harvest and visible (VIS) light transmittance was investigated via Monte Carlo simulations in this case study. The 7-band spectral model for glass and water was evaluated and adopted for several cases of solar spectra of different air mass (AM) coefficients with both direct and diffuse irradiation. Absorption and transmittance in different band regimes as well as in water and glass respectively were differentiated and compared. Practical solar data in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Golden were utilized to demonstrate the performance of the proposed louver under different locations and realistic conditions. Results show that the device facing normally to direct sunlight can harvest around 51-54% of the total solar energy and transmit 74-76% VIS for daylighting in the range of AM1 to AM3. In particular for AM1.5, VIS transmittance reaches 76% for both direct and diffuse irradiation; UV absorption achieves 80% and 85% and IR absorption reaches 64% and 82% for diffuse and collimated irradiation, respectively. In all the three places tested, the device absorbs about 81% IR and 87% UV, and transmits about 76% VIS.Peer reviewe
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