Experimental study of the seismic performance of L-shaped columns with 500 MPa steel bars.

Based on tests on six L-shaped RC columns with 500 MPa steel bars, the effect of axial compression ratios and stirrup spacing on failure mode, bearing capacity, displacement, and curvature ductility of the specimens is investigated. Test results show that specimens with lower axial load and large stirrup characteristic value (larger than about 0.35) are better at ductility and seismic performance, while specimens under high axial load or with a small stirrup characteristic value (less than about 0.35) are poorer at ductility; L-shaped columns with 500 MPa steel bars show better bearing capacity and ductility in comparison with specimens with HRB400 steel bars.

[Enhancement of in vitro protoscolicidal effects of high-intensity focused ultrasound by a superabsorbent polymer and ultrasound contrast agent].

This study evaluated whether or not a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) combined with ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) could enhance damage efficacy of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) on Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces in vitro. Thirty test tubes each with 6 000-7 500 protoscolices were divided into 5 groups: group A (blank control) without HIFU treatment, group B treated with HIFU (50 W) only, group C treated with 10 microl UCA and HIFU, group D treated with 0.01 g SAP and HIFU, group E treated with 10 microl UCA, 0.01 g SAP, and HIFU. In group B, echo enhancement of ultrasound image, suspension temperature (26.0 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C) and protoscoleces mortality (30.4%) were higher than that of group A (18.0 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C, 1.9%) (P < 0.01). Compared with group B, the echo enhancement of ultrasound image, suspension temperature (27.0 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C, 28.2 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C) and protoscoleces mortality (50.0%, 53.7%) of groups C and D increased significantly (P < 0.01). In group E, more protoscoleces were stained in red and their internal structures were indistinct. By chi-square test, the protoscoleces mortality of group E (69.7%) was higher than that of groups C and D (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in suspension temperature among the 3 groups.

The first complete cranium of Homotherium (Machairodontinae, Felidae) from the Nihewan Basin (northern China).

The Nihewan Basin is famous for producing a rich Early Pleistocene fauna, the most classic and standard for the Early Pleistocene of northern China, as well as rich paleolithic remains, documenting the early presence of humans. Many fossil Carnivora, including the scimitar toothed cat Homotherium, were found from this basin, but no complete material of this cat was known, which hampers a deep study of its taxonomy. Here, we report a complete cranium of Homotherium, found in Shigou, a recently discovered locality in the Nihewan Basin. The morphology of the cranium supports its assignment to Homotherium crenatidens teilhardipiveteaui, a terminal evolutionary stage of the species with a Palearctic distribution. Our analyses suggest that Homotherium evolved largely contemporarily in different regions of Eurasia, suggesting a continuous gene flow within the continent, and the subspecies delimitation should be more chronological than geographical.

Deformed Mediated Larval Incisor Lobe Development Causes Differing Feeding Behavior between Oriental Armyworm and Fall Armyworm.

Mandibular incisor lobes are important for insect feeding behavior, living habits and niche. However, the molecular regulation of insect incisor lobe development remains unknown. In this study, we found that two maize pests, oriental armyworm Mythimna separata and fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda, have different feeding patterns in maize, which are closely associated with the different development patterns of their incisor lobes. Different from first to sixth instar S. frugiperda, which feed on leaf tissues and whorls with sharp incisor lobes, older instars of M. separata feed from leaf margins with no incisor lobes. Hox gene Deformed (Dfd) is important for head appendages, but its function in incisor lobe development is not clear. Here, Dfds were identified from two armyworm species, and both were expressed highly in heads and eggs. Interestingly, the expression levels of MsDfd were relatively high in larval mandibles and decreased dramatically from fourth-instar mandibles in M. separata. Knockdown of MsDfd resulted in malformed mandibles with no incisor lobe in M. separata, making the larvae unable to perform window-feeding. However, RNAi of SfDfd did not affect the mandibles and window-feeding pattern of S. frugiperda, indicating the different roles of Dfd in these two species. Moreover, the mortality of new first instar M. separata increased after feeding dsMsDfd but did not for S. frugiperda feeding dsSfDfd. These findings revealed that Dfd mediated the larval mandibular incisor lobe morphology, affecting its feeding pattern in M. separata, broadening the knowledge of Dfd functions in insect mandibles and feeding behavior.

The impact of packaging recyclable ability on environment: Case and scenario analysis of polypropylene express boxes and corrugated cartons.

With the push for sustainable design strategies, recyclable packaging is widely favored by the public in the express delivery industry due to its potential for lowering environmental burden and solving climatic challenges. The goal of this paper was to quantify and integrate the environmental footprints of polypropylene hollow board express box (PPH-EB) and establish evaluation model between the recyclable ability and environment performance (EMRE) based on life cycle assessment. This work was carried out by multiple indicators to avoid environmental problem-shifting, and corrugated cartons express box (C-EB) was taken as control objects. The results show that integrated index of PPH-EB is 94.42% lower than that of C-EB. Industrial Water Use (IWU), Primary Energy Demand (PED) and SO2 are major factors affecting results of PPH-EB, which mainly come from polypropylene particles and water resource consumption from recycle process. The most obvious advantage of PPH-EB compared with C-EB is the nearly 1700 times difference in normalized COD index caused by direct emission of paper preparation process. Scenario analysis showed that integrated index of PPH-EB was lower than that of traditional corrugated cartons after more than twice of use, but if the recycling times of PPH-EB continued to increase, the effect on reducing environmental burden was no longer significant. Therefore, although the recyclable times plays a role in decreasing the environmental impact, it is not a permanent strategy. In the design stage of the recyclable express box, the recyclable ability should be reasonably designed through EMRE, so as to minimize the environmental burden.