With the aims of overcoming the limitations of the existing basic flow model derived from an axisymmetric generating body and extending the aerodynamic design method of the airframe/inlet integrated waverider vehicle, this study develops an upgraded basic flow model derived from an axisymmetric shock wave. It then upgrades the design method for airframe/inlet integration of an air-breathing hypersonic waverider vehicle, which is termed the ‘full-waverider vehicle’ in this study. In this paper, first, the design principle and method for the upgraded full-waverider vehicle derived from an axisymmetric basic shock wave are described in detail. Second, an upgraded basic flow model that accounts for both internal and external flows is derived from an axisymmetric basic shock wave by use of both the streamline tracing method and the method of characteristics (MOC). Third, the upgraded full-waverider vehicle is developed from the upgraded basic flow model by the streamline tracing method. Fourth, the design theories and methodologies of both the upgraded basic flow model and the upgraded full-waverider vehicle are validated by a numerical computation method. Finally, the aerodynamic performances and viscous effects of both the upgraded basic flow model and the upgraded full-waverider vehicle are analysed by numerical computation. The obtained results show that the upgraded basic flow model and aerodynamic design method are effective for the design of the airframe/inlet integration of an air-breathing hypersonic waverider vehicle.

The structural characterization of thin films is important for research development and manufacturing of electronic, magnetic, optical, and other high-tech materials. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction technique has bean used successfully for the determination of crystalline phases, structural-depth profiles, crystallite size, and strain, etc. of thin films with thickness's down to a few tens of Å, If the crystal structure, e.g. the distribution of atoms in the unit cell, or the crystallinity and texture (or preferred orientation) of a film is of interest, the conventional Bragg-Brentano diffractometer technique with the θ-2θ scanning geometry has been found to be appropriate.

Results on least-squares refinement of X-ray reflectivity data obtained with a conventional powder diffractometer are reported. A model containing an oxygen contaminated surface on Pt was used to refine experimental data for a “500-Å” Pt film on Si. Values of layer thickness, density, and roughness determined by least-squares refinement agree with those obtained from highresolution reflectivity data. The results were found to be insensitive to the film-surface alignment. An agreement of ±2.3 Å for Pt thickness, 8% for density, and 2.5 Å for roughness was obtained when the surface was aligned to within the divergence of the incident X-ray beam. The least-squares refinement method was also used to analyze two sputtered “300-Å” Pt films deposited at 4 and 20 × 10-6 Torr Ar pressure. Results showed a significant increase in Pt thickness and a decrease in density for the 20 × 10-6 film probably caused by a large amount of Ar trapped in the film.

Laser-based compact MeV X-ray sources are useful for a variety of applications such as radiography and active interrogation of nuclear materials. MeV X rays are typically generated by impinging the intense laser onto ~mm-thick high-Z foil. Here, we have characterized such a MeV X-ray source from 120 TW (80 J, 650 fs) laser interaction with a 1 mm-thick tantalum foil. Our measurements show X-ray temperature of 2.5 MeV, flux of 3 × 1012 photons/sr/shot, beam divergence of ~0.1 sr, conversion efficiency of ~1%, that is, ~1 J of MeV X rays out of 80 J incident laser, and source size of 80 m. Our measurement also shows that MeV X-ray yield and temperature is largely insensitive to nanosecond laser contrasts up to 10−5. Also, preliminary measurements of similar MeV X-ray source using a double-foil scheme, where the laser-driven hot electrons from a thin foil undergoing relativistic transparency impinging onto a second high-Z converter foil separated by 50–400 m, show MeV X-ray yield more than an order of magnitude lower compared with the single-foil results.

The effect of tunnel cations on tunnel size in α-MnO2 structured (hollandite, cryptomelane) materials has long been of interest, as the tunnel size effects catalytic and transport properties. Previous research on the tunnel size has focused on potassium cryptomelane (KxMn8O16). This paper uses synthetic control of silver content in AgxMn8O16 to investigate the effect that tunnel silver occupancy has on the lattice parameters. Materials with silver (x) content between 1.14 and 1.66 were synthesized, synchrotron diffraction and Rietveld Refinement was used to determine lattice parameters. The lattice parameters were found to contract as silver content increases (from 9.774 Å to 9.738 Å), in contrast to previous investigations of other tunnel cations.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the population regarding severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in endemic areas of Lu'an in China were assessed before and after an intervention programme. The pre-intervention phase was conducted using a sample of 425 participants from the 12 selected villages with the highest rates of endemic SFTS infection. A predesigned interview questionnaire was used to assess KAP. Subsequently, an intervention programme was designed and applied in the selected villages. KAP was re-assessed for each population in the selected villages using the same interview questionnaire. Following 2 months of the programme, 339 participants had completed the re-assessed survey. The impact of the intervention programme was evaluated using suitable statistical methods. A significant increase in the KAP and total KAP scores was noted following the intervention programme, whereas the proportion of correct knowledge, the positive attitudes and the effective practices toward SFTS of respondents increased significantly. The intervention programme was effective in improving KAP level of SFTS in populations that were resident in endemic areas.

TAOS II is a next-generation occultation survey with the goal of measuring the size distribution of the small end of the Kuiper Belt (objects with diameters 0.5–30 km). Such objects have magnitudes r > 30, and are thus undetectable by direct imaging. The project will operate three telescopes at San Pedro Mártir Observatory in Baja California, México. Each telescope will be equipped with a custom-built camera comprised of a focal-plane array of CMOS imagers. The cameras will be capable of reading out image data from 10,000 stars at a cadence of 20 Hz. The telescopes will monitor the same set of stars simultaneously to search for coincident occultation detections, thus minimising the false-positive rate. This talk described the project, and reported on the progress of the development of the survey infrastructure.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the leading causes of death and morbidity associated with liver disease. Risk factors identified for the transmission of HCV include contaminated blood products, intravenous drug use, body piercing, an infected mother at birth, sexual activity, and dental therapy, among others. However, the exact diversity of the HCV genotype and genetic variation among patients with low-risk factors is still unknown. In this study, we briefly described and analysed the genotype distribution and genetic variation of HCV infections with low-risk factors using molecular biology techniques. The results suggested that genotype 1b was predominant, followed by genotypes 2a and 1a. Genetic variations in the 5′ UTR sequences of HCV were identified, including point mutations, deletions, and insertions. The frequency of genetic variations in 1b was higher than in 2a. This study provides considerable value for the prevention and treatment of liver disease caused by HCV among patients with low-risk factors and for the development of HCV diagnostic reagents and vaccines.

In rock engineering, evaluating the post-peak strength and deformation of rock is necessary. To explore the elasto-plastic behavior of sandstone in the post-peak stage, a series of strain-controlled triaxial tests were conducted under different confining pressures. According to the post-peak characteristics, a constitutive model based on nonlinear elasticity and generalized plasticity is proposed. This proposed model is characterized by the following features: (1) Nonlinear elasticity is observed under hydrostatic and shear loading; (2) the associated flow rule is followed; (3) substantial plastic deformation occurs during shear loading; and (4) post-peak softening behavior is accurately predicted. This model requires twelve material parameters, three for elasticity and nine for plasticity. The proposed model was validated by comparing the triaxial test results of Mushan sandstone at different hydrostatic pressures under dry and saturated conditions. In addition, the model is versatile; it can simulate the deformational behavior of two other sandstones. In summary, the proposed model can reasonably predict the complete stress–strain curve of sandstone.

The effects of backward inclination angle on flow characteristics and jet dispersion properties of a stack-issued jet in crossflow were studied by means of instantaneous and long-exposure photography, particle image velocimetry (PIV), and tracer-gas concentration detections at a Reynolds number of 2,400, a jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio of 1.0, and the backward inclination angles θ = 0° - 60°. Three characteristic flow patterns featured by different near-wake flow structures were found within the surveyed span of the backward inclination angle: low (θ ≤ 25°), mediate (25° < θ < 50°), and high (θ ≥ 50°). In the range of low backward inclination angle, mushroom vortices appeared in the upwind shear layer. Jet fluids were entrained into the jet- and tube-wakes because the near wake region was characterized by a jet-wake vortex and a downwash flow. In the range of mediate backward inclination angle, forward-rolling vortices were formed in the upwind shear layer. Jet fluids were entrained into the jet wake but not appearing in the tube wake because the near wake was characterized by an isolated tube wake and up-going flows. In the range of high backward inclination angle, small-sized forward-rolling vortices were observed in the upwind shear layer. Jet fluids were not observed in both the jet- and tube-wakes because all flows went forward without reversal or vortex, which was similar to that in a jet in co-flow. Large turbulence intensities occurred around the jet-wake vortex and along sides of the tube wake bifurcation line, therefore the mixing at the low backward inclination angles presented better properties than those at mediate and high backward inclination angles owing to the featured flow structures and turbulence intensities.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a type of pathogenic bacteria that cause diarrhea in piglets through colonizing pig small intestine epithelial cells by their surface fimbriae. Different fimbriae type of ETEC including F4, F18, K99 and F41 have been isolated from diarrheal pigs. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study to map the loci associated with the susceptibility of pigs to ETEC F41 using 39454 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 667 F2 pigs from a White Duroc×Erhualian F2 cross. The most significant SNP (ALGA0022658, P=5.59×10−13) located at 6.95 Mb on chromosome 4. ALGA0022658 was in high linkage disequilibrium (r 2>0.5) with surrounding SNPs that span a 1.21 Mb interval. Within this 1.21 Mb region, we investigated ZFAT as a positional candidate gene. We re-sequenced cDNA of ZFAT in four pigs with different susceptibility phenotypes, and identified seven coding variants. We genotyped these seven variants in 287 unrelated pigs from 15 diverse breeds that were measured with ETEC F41 susceptibility phenotype. Five variants showed nominal significant association (P<0.05) with ETEC F41 susceptibility phenotype in International commercial pigs. This study provided refined region associated with susceptibility of pigs to ETEC F41 than that reported previously. Further works are needed to uncover the underlying causal mutation(s).

Floral organ development influences plant reproduction and crop yield. The mechanism of floral organ specification is generally conserved in angiosperms as demonstrated by the ‘ABC’ model. However, mechanisms underlying the development of floral organs in specific groups of species such as grasses remain unclear. In the genus Oryza (rice), a spikelet consists of a fertile floret sub-tended by a lemma, a palea, two sterile lemmas and rudimentary glumes. To understand how the lemma is formed, a curve-shaped lemma-distortion1 (ld1) mutant was identified. Genetic analysis confirmed that the ld1 mutant phenotype was due to a single recessive gene mutation. Using a large F 2 population, the LD1 gene was mapped between markers Indel-7-15 and Indel-7-18, which encompassed a region of 15·6 kilo base pairs (kbp). According to rice genome annotations, two putative genes, LOC_Os07g32510 and LOC_Os07g32520, were located in this candidate region. However, DNA sequencing results indicated only 1 base pair (bp) substitution (T⇨C) was found in LOC_Os07g32510 between the wild-type and the ld1 mutant. Thus LOC_Os07g32510, encoding a DNA binding with one zinc finger (DoF) containing protein, was the candidate gene for LD1. Further analysis showed that mutation of the amino acid cysteine (C) to arginine (R) was likely to lead to zinc finger protein deactivation. Phylogenetic and conservation analysis of the gene from different species revealed that cysteine was critical to LD1 function. As a new gene controlling lemma development, the study of LD1 could provide insights into rice floral organ formation mechanisms.

A numerical study was conducted to analyse the performance of different turbulence models and different turbulence intensities and turbulence length scales specified for the boundary condition of the inflow to the internal compression flow field of a typical supersonic inlet. The effect of the back-pressure ratio on the properties of the flow field was also investigated. Computational results obtained by the commercial software FLUENT, which is used to solve the full two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, were validated through both graphical and quantitative comparisons with previously published experimental data. The two-equation models that were considered in this study are the RNG k-ε, realisable k-ε, standard k-ε, and SST k-ω turbulence models. The RNG k-ε model had the best performance among the four models and predicted good wall pressure distributions. The best agreement between the predicted results and experimental data was obtained when either the default values of the freestream turbulence intensity and length scale in the FLUENT solver were used, or the empirical formula was used to calculate the two parameters of the freestream turbulence properties. The shock wave pattern varied between the oblique mode and the fully developed normal mode with increasing back-pressure ratio, and the unstart phenomenon occurred when the back-pressure ratio was sufficiently high.