• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.748-756
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• 2018

Biofilms are of vital significance in bioconversion and biotechnological processes. In this work, sugarcane molasses was used to enhance biofilms for the improvement of the production of fumigaclavine C (FC), a conidiation-associated ergot alkaloid with strong anti-inflammatory activities. Biofilm formation was more greatly induced by the addition of molasses than the addition of other reported biofilm inducers. With the optimal molasses concentration (400 g/l), the biofilm biomass was 6-fold higher than that with sucrose, and FC and conidia production was increased by 5.8- and 3.1-fold, respectively. Moreover, the global secondary metabolism regulatory gene laeA, FC biosynthetic gene fgaOx3, and asexual central regulatory genes brlA and wetA were upregulated in molasses-based biofilms, suggesting the upregulation of both asexual development and FC biosynthesis. This study provides novel insight into the stimulatory effects of molasses on biofilm formation and supports the widespread application of molasses as an inexpensive raw material and effective inducer for biofilm production.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-72
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• 2018

Researches based on the pattern of planned behavior holds that the three variables of entrepreneurial attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control influence each other and influence entrepreneurial intentions respectively. However, there are also different, even conflicting research conclusions that continue to emerge. Researches based on the pattern of alertness, believe that profit opportunities and individuals' pursuit to truth are the driving forces. Many scholars have demonstrated the impact of individual entrepreneurial alertness on entrepreneurial intentions. However, as an exogenous causal agent, profit opportunities have a logical problem: if there are no other assumptions, the mere existence of opportunities does not adequately explain entrepreneurial alertness. To address this gap, this study considered samples from mainland China, where entrepreneurial activities are very active currently, to test the role that entrepreneurial alertness is assumed to play in the planned behavior model. The results show that the three dimensions of alertness, individually partly intermediate the influence of entrepreneurial attitude on entrepreneurial intention, the influence of subjective norms on entrepreneurial intention, and that of perceived behavior control on entrepreneurial intention. This article studied the production of entrepreneurial intention by integrating the two patterns of planned behavior and alertness through empirical analysis, and opened up a new field for subsequent research on entrepreneurial intention.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.326-338
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• 2017

The Vortex-induced Motions (VIM) phenomenon of semi-submersibles is relevant for the fatigue life of moorings and risers. Model tests regarding the VIM behavior of a semi-submersible with four square columns were conducted in order to investigate the effects of the current incidence and the aspect ratio of the immerged column. The experimental results show that the largest transverse amplitudes are around 70% of the column width at $30^{\circ}$ and $45^{\circ}$ incidences in a range of reduced velocities from 5 to 8 when the aspect ratio of the immerged column is 1.90. The largest yaw motion occurs at $0^{\circ}$ incidence with the peak value around $4.5^{\circ}$. Similar characteristics of the VIM response are observed for the semi-submersible with aspect ratios of 1.90 and 1.73. When the aspect ratio decreases 50% to 0.87, 30% decrease in the peak transverse amplitudes can be seen.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.19-22
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• 2008

ZnO nanotips, grown on c-$Al_2O_3$ and quartz, were implanted variously with 200 keV Fe or Mn ions to a dose level of $5{\times}10^{16}cm^{-2}$. The magnetic properties of these samples were measured using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. Fe-implanted ZnO nanotips grown on c-$Al_2O_3$ showed a coercive field width of 209 Oe and a remanent field of 12% of the saturation magnetization ($2.3{\times}10^{-5}emu$) at 300K for a sample annealed at $700^{\circ}C$ for 20 minutes. The field-cooled and the zero-field-cooled magnetization measurements also showed evidence of ferromagnetism in this sample with an estimated Curie temperature of around 350 K. The Mn-implanted ZnO nanotips grown on c-$Al_2O_3$ showed superparamagnetism resulting from the dominance of a spin-glass phase. The ZnO nanotips grown on quartz and implanted with Fe or Mn showed signs of ferromagnetism, but neither was consistent.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.746-756
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• 2013

The modularized subunit of an electronic power transformer (EPT) is a series connection of two H-bridge voltage-source converters and a DC-DC converter with a high-frequency isolation transformer (HFIT). On the basis of cascading and paralleling the modularized subunits, EPT can be used in high-voltage and large-current applications in the power system. This paper discusses the steady state analysis of the modularized subunit of EPT. Theoretical analysis considers the influences of the two H-bridge voltage-source converters on the two sides of the DC-DC converter. We deduce the formulas of the theoretical calculation on the internal electrical characteristics of EPT (e.g., the voltages of the DC-bus capacitor and the primary side peak current of the HFIT). This paper provides guidance on the design and selection of EPT key elements (e.g., the DC-bus capacitors and HFIT). Experimental results are obtained from a single subunit of a laboratory model rated at 962 V, 15 kVA. All calculations, simulations, and experiments confirm the theoretical analysis of the subunit of EPT.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.607-617
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• 2006

A novel calcium-dependent protein kinase gene (designated as IiCPK2) was cloned from tetraploid Isatis indigotica. The full-length cDNA of IiCPK2 was 2585 bp long with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1878 bp encoding a polypeptide of 625 amino acid residues. The predicted IiCPK2 polypeptide included three domains: a kinase domain, a junction domain (or autoinhibitory region), and a C-terminal calmodulin-like domain (or calcium-binding domain), which presented a typical structure of plant CDPKs. Further analysis of IiCPK2 genomic DNA revealed that it contained 7 exons, 6 introns and the length of most exons was highly conserved. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the expression of IiCPK2 in root, stem and leaf were much higher in tetraploid sample than that in diploid progenitor. Further expression analysis revealed that gibberellin ($GA_3$), NaCl and cold treatments could up-regulate the IiCPK2 transcription. All our findings suggest that IiCPK2 might participate in the cold, high salinity and GA3 responsive pathways.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.206-211
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• 2017

Background: Self-reported low back pain (LBP) has been evaluated in relation to material handling lifting tasks, but little research has focused on relating quantifiable stressors to LBP at the individual level. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Composite Lifting Index (CLI) has been used to quantify stressors for lifting tasks. A chemical exposure can be readily used as an exposure metric or stressor for chemical risk assessment (RA). Defining and quantifying lifting nonchemical stressors and related adverse responses is more difficult. Stressor-response models appropriate for CLI and LBP associations do not easily fit in common chemical RA modeling techniques (e.g., Benchmark Dose methods), so different approaches were tried. Methods: This work used prospective data from 138 manufacturing workers to consider the linkage of the occupational stressor of material lifting to LBP. The final model used a Bayesian random threshold approach to estimate the probability of an increase in LBP as a threshold step function. Results: Using maximal and mean CLI values, a significant increase in the probability of LBP for values above 1.5 was found. Conclusion: A risk of LBP associated with CLI values > 1.5 existed in this worker population. The relevance for other populations requires further study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.891-902
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• 2016

The beam structure with breathing cracks subjected to harmonic excitations was modeled by FEM based on Euler-Bernoulli theory, and a piecewise dynamical system was deduced. The precise integration method (PIM) was employed to propose an algorithm for analyzing the dynamic responses of the deduced system. This system was first divided into linear sub-systems, between which there are switching points resulted from the breathing cracks. The inhomogeneous terms due to the external excitations were tackled by introducing auxiliary variables to express the harmonic functions, hence the sub-systems are homogeneous. The PIM was then applied to solve the homogeneous sub-systems one by one. During the procedures, a predictor-corrector algorithm was presented to determine the switching points accurately. The presented method can provide solutions with an accuracy to a magnitude of $10^{-12}$ compared with exact solutions obtained by the theories of ordinary differential equations. The PIM results are much more accurate than Newmark ones with the same time step. Moreover, it is found that the PIM can maintain a high level of accuracy even when the time step increases within a relatively wide range.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.539-550
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• 1996

Experiment was conducted to study the effect of sources of dietary fiber on the intestinal morphology of geese. Sixty white Roman geese of two-week-old were divided randomly into six groups and were fed with isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets which contain alfalfa meal, barley hull, rice hull, purified cellulose, lignin, or pectin as the major dietary source of fiber. Different sources of dietary fiber significantly influenced the villi height and the crypt depth in the duodenum, and the villi height and the muscle layer thickness in the ileum (p < 0.05). The duodenal villus in the geese that fed diets with alfalfa meal, rice hull or pectin supplemented were significantly longest ($968.5{\mu}m$), whereas the lignin group was significantly shortest villus and deepest crypt depth (p < 0.05). The thicknesses of the ileal and caecal muscle layer were significantly thicker in the geese fed with cellulose supplemented diets than in those fed with the other treatment diets. The caecum of the barley bran fed geese possessed significantly longest villi and the most thick muscle layers (p < 0.05). From scanning electronic microscopic observation, the leafy and plate-like in the duodenal villi morphology of geese represented a more effective nutrient absorption in the small intestine. The morphology of ileal villi in geese was similar from herbivorous rabbit and from the African Green monkey.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.537-548
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• 2018

A tunnel deformation monitoring system is developed with the use of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technique, aiming at providing continuous monitoring of railway tunnel deformation in the long term, and early warning for the rail service maintainers and authorities to avoid catastrophic consequences when significant deformation occurs. Specifically, a set of FBG bending gauges with the ability of angle measurement and temperature compensation is designed and manufactured for the purpose of online monitoring of tunnel deformation. An overall profile of lateral tunnel displacement along the longitudinal direction can be obtained by implementing an array of the FBG bending gauges interconnected by rigid rods, in conjunction with a proper algorithm. The devised system is verified in laboratory experiments with a test setup enabling to imitate various patterns of tunnel deformation before the implementation of this system in an in-service high-speed railway (HSR) tunnel.