In this paper, thin plate theory and moderately thick plate theory are proposed for analyzing the bending problem of rectangular plates with stepped thickness resting on elastic half-space foundation. The ground reaction is considered as an unknown coefficient and the hypothesis of Winkler foundation model and two-parameter ground model is eliminated in this method, so as to obtain the law of internal force distribution of the plate and the distribution law of contact reaction force between the stepped rectangular plate and foundation. The stepped rectangular plate is divided into upper and lower plates, and thin plate theory and moderately thick plate theory are used to obtain the analytical solution. The obtained analytical solutions in this paper are compared with results reported in other publications to verify the accuracy of this method. The effects of the elastic modulus and dimensions of the plate, and theory of plate are also considered. The analytical solutions show that it is feasible to decompose the stepped rectangular plate into two plates for analyzing the bending properties of stepped rectangular plate, and this method provide a reference for the study of multilayer stepped rectangular plates.

: Exploiting the relationship between the stacking modes of molecules and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) performance is of great important to design afterglow materials. A series of coordination polymers base on carbazole–isophtalic acid are synthesized. These compounds exhibit stacking-dependent RTP. It reveals that the phosphorescence efficiency is not proportional to the overlap of p–p stacking, the triplet excited states of discrete dimer mode rather than H-aggregation can dominate the generation of room-temperature phosphorescence. Besides, compounds 1 and 2 exhibit obvious time-dependent RTP with the afterglow color from orange to green, and show white-light emission owing to fluorescence and phosphorescence dual emission. These results indicate that coordination induction is an efficient approach to regulate the aggregation of chromophores, further modulate the room-temperature phosphorescence.

Lignocellulosic biomass has demonstrated great potential as feedstock for pellet production, notwithstanding the fact that the industrial production of pellets is faced with some economic challenges. This study presents a technoeconomic analysis of six case scenarios to develop a process model for pellet production from sawdust and oat straw that employs torrefaction and steam explosion pretreatment prior to pelletization. SuperPro Designer was used to carry out this evaluation. The pellet plants were designed to have a capacity of 9.09 t/h of sawdust and oat straw each. The pellet yield ranged from 59 kt– 72 kt/year. Scenarios analyzed included variations of steam explosion and torrefaction. In some scenarios materials were lost in the form of liquid and gas due to the pretreatment process. The breakdown of equipment purchase cost showed that the torrefaction reactor is the most expensive unit with about 51% of the purchase cost. Facility-dependent and feedstock costs were the major significant contributors to the pellet production cost. The profitability of pellet production as determined by the net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period and was found to be sensitive to variations in feedstock cost.

Biological parameters extracted from electrical signals from various body parts have been used for many years to analyze the human body and its behavior. In addition, electrical signals from cancer cell lines, normal cells, and viruses, among others, have been widely used for the detection of various diseases. Single-cell parameters such as cell and cytoplasmic conductivity, relaxation frequency, and membrane capacitance are important. There are many techniques available to characterize biomaterials, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), nanotechnology, microstrip cavity resonance measurement, dielectric impedance measurement (DEPIM), etc. This article reviews the single cell isolation and sorting techniques, summarizes the common single cell operations such as impedance flow cytometry, cell electrical impedance, electrical impedance sensing, and summarizes the current single cell analysis techniques and their applications.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SCFP) can potentially promote gastrointestinal growth and immunity in young livestock. However, reports within the existing literature on the effects of SCFP supplements on calves have been inconsistent; therefore, we perform the following experiments to resolve the inconsistencies. A total of 22 Holstein calves [10 d after birth, BW = 48.93 ± 3.99 kg (mean ± SD)] were assigned randomly into two groups, namely the control group (CON) and SCFP group, each having 11 replicas. The calves in the CON were fed a basal diet, while the SCFP group was fed the basal diet supplemented with 5g/head/d SCFP (NutriTek, Diamond V, Cedar Rapids, IA52404, United States) incorporated into feed. All the calves were regularly fed thrice daily at 08:00, 14:30, and 21:00 and had free access to water. A 5-day adaptation phase was followed by a 45-day experimental period. The results showed that compared to the CON, at the end of the d-45 trial, the body weight was significantly greater in the SCFP group (p < 0.05), and during the 1-45 days, the ADG was higher (p < 0.05). The FCR in the 30-45 days SCFP group was higher (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the apparent digestibility of DM, CP, EE, ADF, Ca, and P were significantly increased in the SCFP group, except for NDF (p < 0.05). The concentration of GH and IGF-1 in serum showed a tremendous increase (p < 0.05) with SCFP supplementation on d 15 and d 45. On d 15, SCFP supplementation significantly increased the serum IgA contents (p < 0.05). Notably, on d 15 and d 45, the serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α reduced (p < 0.001). Moreover, the Actinobacteriota in the SCFP group were significantly lower than those in the CON group (p = 0.034). SCFP significantly increased the abundance of Butyricimonas, Parabacteroides, and Ruminococcus. The differences among sob, Chao1, and PD-tree groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). In conclusion, these results demonstrate that SCFP supplementation improved ADG, apparent digestibility and serum hormone, enhanced immunity, and regulated gut microbiota, thereby jointly promoting the growth of pre-weaning calves.

The processability of conductive polymers such as polyaniline (PANI) still poses a challenge due to their properties. The use of stabilizers, compatible and able to interact with PANI, to obtain dispersible and stable colloids is described in this work. To this aim, potato starch has been used as a steric stabilizer for the preparation of polyaniline (emeraldine salt, ES)/starch biocomposites, by exploiting oxidative polymerization of aniline in aqueous solutions containing different ratios of aniline and starch (% w/w). The polyaniline/starch biocomposites were subjected to structural and spectroscopic analyses, thermal analysis, morphological analysis and electrochemical analysis. The samples were then tested for their dispersibility/solubility in various organic solvents. The results showed the formation of PANI/starch biocomposites with an overall smaller size than starch particles, with improved aqueous dispersion and solubility in organic solvents. Although X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analyses indicated a loss of crystallinity in the biocomposites, the cyclic voltammetry tests showed that all PANI ES/starch biocomposites display improved redox exchange properties.