The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant effect of alpha-lipoic acid (α-LA) in dairy cows and its metabolic mechanism. Thirty Holstein cows weighing 550 ± 25 kg, 200 ± 15 days of lactation and calving 2–3 times were randomly divided into three groups, ten cows in each group. Different doses of α-LA were added based on body weight: 0 (CTL), 30 (LA-L) and 60 (LA-H) mg/kg per head per day; 7 days adaptation period, 30 days formal period. Milk production was recorded daily during the test period. Milk and blood samples were collected on the last day. ELISA kits and automatic biochemical analyser were used to detect the indicators in blood; serum metabolites were detected and analysed by non-target metabolomics. The results of the study showed that the addition of α-LA significantly increased milk yield; blood concentrations for HDL, triglyceride, cortisol and triiodothyronine were significantly elevated; and levels of glutathione reductase and nitric oxide synthase were significantly reduced in LA-L group as compared to CTL group. The concentrations of IL-1β, IL-2, TNF-α, IgG and IgA were significantly higher after supplementation with α-LA. Metabolomics analysis revealed 13 and 15 differential metabolites each in positive or negative modes. Methylmalonic acid levels were significantly higher following α-LA supplementation compared to CTL group, as were D-lactose, D-maltose and oleanolic acid levels in LA-L group. In summary, α-LA can enhance milk production, improve antioxidant capacity and immunity, and is more beneficial for animal production and economic benefits at 30 mg/kg.

Isolated multi-MeV $\gamma$-rays with attosecond duration, high collimation and beam angular momentum (BAM) may find many interesting applications in nuclear physics, astrophysics, etc. Here, we propose a scheme to generate such $\gamma$-rays via nonlinear Thomson scattering of a rotating relativistic electron sheet driven by a few-cycle twisted laser pulse interacting with a micro-droplet target. Our model clarifies the laser intensity threshold and carrier-envelope phase effect on the generation of the isolated electron sheet. Three-dimensional numerical simulations demonstrate the $\gamma$-ray emission with 320 attoseconds duration and peak brilliance of $9.3\times 10^{24}$ photons s${}^{-1}$ mrad${}^{-2}$ mm${}^{-2}$ per 0.1$\%$ bandwidth at 4.3 MeV. The $\gamma$-ray beam carries a large BAM of $2.8 \times 10^{16}\mathrm{\hslash}$, which arises from the efficient BAM transfer from the rotating electron sheet, subsequently leading to a unique angular distribution. This work should promote the experimental investigation of nonlinear Thomson scattering of rotating electron sheets in large laser facilities.

Montmorillonite (Mnt)-based solid acids have a wide range of applications in catalysis and adsorption of pollutants. For such solid acids, the acidic characteristic often plays a significant role in these applications. The objective of the current study was to examine the effects of H3PO4-activation and supporting WO3 on the textural structure and surface acidic properties of Mnt. The Mnt-based solid acid materials were prepared by H3PO4 treatment and an impregnation method with a solution of ammonium metatungstate (AMT) and were examined as catalysts in the dehydration of glycerol to acrolein. The catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible (DR UV-Vis) spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption of NH3 (NH3-TPD), diffuse reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (DR FTIR) spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. The phosphoric acid treatment of Mnt created Brönsted and Lewis acid sites and led to increases in specific surface areas, porosity, and acidity. WO3 species influenced total acidity, acid strength, the numbers of Brönsted and Lewis acid sites, and catalytic performances. A high turnover frequency (TOF) value (31.2 h−1) based on a maximal 60.7% yield of acrolein was reached. The correlation of acrolein yield with acidic properties indicated that the cooperative role of Brönsted and Lewis acid sites was beneficial to the formation of acrolein and a little coke deposition (<3.3 wt.%). This work provides a new idea for the design of solid acid catalysts with cooperative Brönsted and Lewis acidity for the dehydration of glycerol.

Declines in populations of the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaeus have been rapid, with the breeding population now perhaps numbering fewer than 120 pairs. The reasons for this decline remain unresolved. Whilst there is evidence that hunting in wintering areas is an important factor, loss of suitable habitat on passage and wintering areas is also of concern. While some key sites for the species are already documented, many of their wintering locations are described here for the first time. Their wintering range primarily stretches from Bangladesh to China. Comprehensive surveys of potential Spoon-billed Sandpiper wintering sites from 2005 to 2013 showed a wide distribution with three key concentrations in Myanmar and Bangladesh, but also regular sites in China, Vietnam and Thailand. The identification of all important non-breeding sites remains of high priority for the conservation of the species. Here, we present the results of field surveys of wintering Spoon-billed Sandpipers that took place in six countries between 2005 and 2013 and present species distribution models which map the potential wintering areas. These include known and currently unrecognised wintering locations. Our maximum entropy model did not identify any new extensive candidate areas within the winter distribution, suggesting that most key sites are already known, but it did identify small sites on the coast of eastern Bangladesh, western Myanmar, and the Guangxi and Guangdong regions of China that may merit further investigation. As no extensive areas of new potential habitat were identified, we suggest that the priorities for the conservation of this species are habitat protection in important wintering and passage areas and reducing hunting pressure on birds at these sites.

Ti–47Al–1.0W–0.5Si (at.%) alloy was directionally solidified in the range of growth rate (V) (V = 3–100 μm/s) at a constant temperature gradient (G = 18 K/mm). It was found that α phase was the primary phase of the alloy. Both primary dendritic arm spacing (λ) and interlamellar spacing (λs) decreased with increase of the growth rate (V) according to the relationship of λ ∝ V −0.356 and λs ∝ V −0.49, respectively. The Solidification segregation occurred since the enrichment of the solute element W in primary α phase during solidification. The degree of the segregation increased with the increase of the growth rate (V). The results also revealed that the lamellar orientation was not always perpendicular to the growth direction (GD) because the GD of primary α dendritic deviated from the preferred $\left\langle {0001} \right\rangle$ direction. The microhardness increased with increasing growth rate (V) according to H V ∝ 289.5V 0.12 because of the microstructure refinement.

The NASA Kepler satellite has provided unprecedented high duty-cycle, high-precision light curves for a large number of stars by continuously monitoring a field of view in Cygnus-Lyra region, leading to great progress in both discovering exoplanets and characterizing planet-hosting stars by means of asteroseismic methods. The asteroseismic survey allows the investigation of stars covering the whole H-R diagram. However, the low precision of effective temperatures and surface gravities in the KIC catalogue and the lack of information on chemical composition, metallicity and rotation rate prevent asteroseismic modeling, requiring spectroscopic observations for thousands of asteroseismic targets in the Kepler field in a homogeneous way.

A second-order instability analysis has been performed for sinuous disturbances on two-dimensional planar viscous sheets moving in a stationary gas medium using a perturbation technique. The solutions of second-order interface disturbances have been derived for both temporal instability and spatial instability. It has been found that the second-order interface deformation of the fundamental sinuous wave is varicose or dilational, causing disintegration and resulting in ligaments which are interspaced by half a wavelength. The interface deformation has been presented; the breakup time for temporal instability and breakup length for spatial instability have been calculated. An increase in Weber number and gas-to-liquid density ratio extensively increases both the temporal or spatial growth rate and the second-order initial disturbance amplitude, resulting in a shorter breakup time or length, and a more distorted surface deformation. Under normal conditions, viscosity has a stabilizing effect on the first-order temporal or spatial growth rate, but it plays a dual role in the second-order disturbance amplitude. The overall effect of viscosity is minor and complicated. In the typical condition, in which the Weber number is 400 and the gas-to-liquid density ratio is 0.001, viscosity has a weak stabilizing effect when the Reynolds number is larger than 150 or smaller than 10; when the Reynolds number is between 150 and 10, viscosity has a weak destabilizing effect.

The system of accretion disk and black hole is usually considered as the central engine of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs). It is usually thought that the disk in the central engine of GRBs is the advection-dominated accretion disk, which is developed from a massive (mass Mdisk) torus at radius rdisk. We find a positive correlation between the isotropic gamma-ray energy Eiso and duration (so-called T90) for GRBs. We interpret this correlation within the advection-dominated accretion disk model, associating Eiso and T90 with Mdisk and viscous timescale respectively.

Formation and evolution details of a two-phase coupled microstructure in AISI 304 stainless steel are studied by quenching method during directional solidification. Results show that the coupled growth microstructure, which is composed of thin lath-like ferrite (δ) and austenite (γ), crystallizes first in the form of colony from the melt. As solidification develops, the retained liquid transforms into austenite gradually. On cooling, solid-state transformation from ferrite to austenite results in the disappearance of part thinner ferrites and the final two-phase coupled microstructure is formed after the solid-state transformation. The formation mechanism of the two-phase coupled microstructure is analyzed based on the nucleation and constitutional undercooling criterion (NCU) before steady-state growth of each phase is reached.

Galectins are a family of animal lectins that bind β-galactosides. Outside the cell, galectins bind to cell-surface and extracellular matrix glycans and thereby affect a variety of cellular processes. However, galectins are also detectable in the cytosol and nucleus, and may influence cellular functions such as intracellular signalling pathways through protein–protein interactions with other cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins. Current research indicates that galectins play important roles in diverse physiological and pathological processes, including immune and inflammatory responses, tumour development and progression, neural degeneration, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and wound repair. Some of these have been discovered or confirmed by using genetically engineered mice deficient in a particular galectin. Thus, galectins may be a therapeutic target or employed as therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases, cancers and several other diseases.

The present work proposes a Dugdale type model to theoretically predict the multiple cracks of a residually tensile stressed thin film on a ductile substrate. The results show that there exists a critical value, Rc, of the cracking resistance number, R. When R < R, the film > c cracks and the normalized crack spacing is determined by cracking resistance number and the stress ratio of the residual stress to the yield strength of the substrate.

With regard to substrate deformation, this work analyzed the microcantilever beam-bending test and provided a closed formula of deflection versus load. The substrate deformation was formulated using two coupled springs; the spring compliances were related to the elastic compliances of the substrate, the support angle between the substrate and the microcantilever beam, and the beam thickness. Finite element analysis was conducted to calculate the spring compliances and verify the analytic formula. The results showed that the proportionality factor of the load to the deflection was a third-order polynomial of the length from the loading point to the fixed beam end. Examples are also given to indicate the relative error of Young's modulus when evaluated with the beam-bending theory without considering the substrate deformation.

The present work investigates the effects of a passive film formed during stress corrosion cracking on ductile/brittle fracture behavior, considering the interaction of a dislocation with a thin- film-covered crack under an applied remote load. The dislocation emission from the thin-film- covered crack tip is analyzed, on the basis of the two-dimensional Rice-Thomson model, for screw and edge dislocations. The results show that the nominally critical stress intensity factor for dislocation emission is related to the thin film thickness, the properties of the film and the loading conditions. For a given loading mode and a given crack length, there exists a critical value of the film thickness at which the film does not influence the dislocation emission. When the film thickness is smaller than the critical value, a harder thin film makes the dislocation emission easier and a softer film makes the dislocation emission more difficult. The opposite is also true if the film thickness is larger than the critical value.

It has been experimentally and theoretically found that the critical applied stress intensity factor for indentation cracking also depends linearly on the reciprocal of the square root of crack length when the indentation fracture technique is used to measure residual stresses in thin films.

The topic (Seidelmann, 1986) is one of the unresolved questions in the field of celestial mechanics because the definitions of an inertial system are all controversial (Mach, 1893; Eichhorn, 1984). Eichhorn's definition enlarges its connotation and is not acceptable either. Connotation of a concept is endowed through defining it. One of the reasons why the existing definitions of an inertial system are all controversial is that the connotations that are endowed by them are not unique, in other words, they do not draw up the same area of ideas. Taking the interplay of all of them for its connotation is an acceptable solution.

Based on extragalactic radio sources, a new high precision extragalactic radio reference frame can be established from radio interferometric measurements. To link the optical fundamental reference frame presently represented by the FK4/5 to the extragalactic radio frame, the optical counterparts of extragalactic radio sources (quasars, BL Lac objects etc.) and radio stars are the most important classes of objects. Besides these two classes of objects, are there any other objects which can be used to link the optical and radio frames? A posible answer is that artificial satellites could be a candidate class of objects contributing to this subject.

A new expansion for the gravitational potential of the asteroid belt is derived in this paper on the basis of binomial expansions. Its advantages are: (1)the unified form both for the inner and for the outer regions of the belt; (2)suitability for discussing the motions of the celestial bodies with perihelions within but apohelions beyond the belt; (3)rapidity of convergence.

The perturbations due to the asteroid belt are studied by using our expansion.