OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To compare the effects of dietary fiber supplementation based on fermentability and viscosity on phosphorus fractional absorption and the gut microbiome in a rat model of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: 25-week-old Cy/+ male rats (CKD hereafter) will be randomly assigned to receive one of four fiber treatments (10% w/w each) based on fermentability and viscosity: 1) Cellulose (-fermentability, -viscosity), 2) inulin (+fermentability, -viscosity), 3) psyllium husk (-fermentability, +viscosity), or 4) pectin (+ fermentability, +viscosity). Diets will be formulated with a semipurified diet containing 0.7% phosphorus. Treatments will last for 10 weeks, and rats will be euthanized at 35 weeks of age, where animals have reached kidney failure. Intravenous and oral 33P will be used for intestinal phosphorus fractional absorption and cecal/fecal samples will be obtained at euthanasia for microbiome assessment using shotgun metagenomics. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Our preliminary data show that fermentable dietary fiber (inulin) impacted phosphorus homeostasis by increasing the circulating levels of fibroblast growth factor-23 (a bone-derived hormone that increases phosphorus excretion in urine) and lowering circulating levels of phosphorus in the Cy/+ male rat model of progressive chronic kidney disease. We hypothesize that dietary fiber impacts phosphorus absorption in gut microbiome-dependent and independent mechanisms. For example, fermentable fiber enhances the production of short-chain fatty acids, lowering the intraluminal pH, and enhancing mineral solubility and absorption. Meanwhile, viscous fibers may encapsulate minerals limiting their absorption if these fibers are non-fermentable. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Hyperphosphatemia, or high circulating phosphorus, is a major factor in the pathogenesis of CKD-MBD. Treatment of hyperphosphatemia is focused on reducing intestinal absorption. However, available therapies vary in their efficacy and focus on phosphorus absorption in the small intestine, ignoring the possible impact of the large intestine.

Although a coaxial compound helicopter can takeoff without propeller in the normal condition, the distance should be as short as possible for obstacle avoidance when the vehicle operates in a confined area with heavy loads. Therefore, a suitable propeller control is required to improve the takeoff performance while the total power consumption is no more than the available power. The path is predicted by applying trajectory optimisation. Several varying takeoff parameters, including attitude, liftoff speed and obstacle height, are considered for optimum global performance. Three path indicators are proposed. Apart from typical distance and pilot workload, path sensitivity is quantified based on deviation from takeoff parameter variation. Results indicated that low propeller thrust at hover and moderate allocation on the propeller through flight is recommended. The aircraft achieves significantly improved takeoff performance compared to flight with pure rotors while maintaining the maximum takeoff weight. The distance is shortened by 12.6%, and the longitudinal pilot workload is alleviated by 9.8% and 7.3% from mean and maximum power frequency aspects. Besides, the path is less sensitive to takeoff parameter variations, such as speed, altitude and height.

Colliding collisionless shocks appear in a great variety of astrophysical phenomena and are thought to be possible sources of particle acceleration in the Universe. We have previously investigated particle acceleration induced by single super-critical shocks (whose magnetosonic Mach number is higher than the critical value of 2.7) (Yao et al., Nat. Phys., vol. 17, issue 10, 2021, pp. 1177–1182; Yao et al., Matter Radiat. Extrem., vol. 7, issue 1, 2022, 014402), as well as the collision of two sub-critical shocks (Fazzini et al., Astron. Astrophys., vol. 665, 2022, A87). Here, we propose to make measurements of accelerated particles from interpenetrating super-critical shocks to observe the ‘phase-locking effect’ (Fazzini et al., Astron. Astrophys., vol. 665, 2022, A87) from such an event. This effect is predicted to significantly boost the energy spectrum of the energized ions compared with a single super-critical collisionless shock. We thus anticipate that the results obtained in the proposed experiment could have a significant impact on our understanding of one type of primary source (acceleration of thermal ions as opposed to secondary acceleration mechanisms of already energetic ions) of ion energization of particles in the Universe.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between bone quality in terms of metabolism, homeostasis of elements, bone mineral density (BMD), and microstructure and keel-bone fractures in laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus). One hundred and twenty 17 week old Lohmann White laying hens with normal keel bones were individually housed in furnished cages for 25 weeks. Birds were then euthanased and dissected to assess keel-bone status at 42 weeks. Serum and keel-bone samples from normal keel (NK) and fractured keel (FK) hens were collected to determine the previously mentioned bone quality parameters. The results showed FK hens to have higher levels of the components of osteocalcin, greater alkaline phosphatase activity in serum and keel bones, and greater tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity in keel bones, compared to NK hens. Additionally, FK hens also had higher concentrations of Li, B, K, Cu, As, Se, Sn, Hg, and Pb, but lower concentrations of Na, P, and Ca. Moreover, FK hens showed decreased bone microstructural parameters including bone volume/tissue volume, trabecular number, degree of anisotropy, connectivity density, and BMD, but increased trabecular separation. Meanwhile, no differences were detected in serum TRAP activity, trabecular thickness, bone surface, or bone surface/bone volume. Results showed laying hens with keel-bone fractures to have differences in bone metabolism, elements of home-ostasis, bone microstructure parameters, and BMD. These results suggest that keel-bone fractures may be associated with bone quality.

The effect of sheared E × B flow on the blob dynamics in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of HL-2A tokamak has been studied during the plasma current ramp-up in ohmically heated deuterium plasmas by the combination of poloidal and radial Langmuir probe arrays. The experimental results indicate that the SOL sheared E × B flow is substantially enhanced as the plasma current exceeds a certain value and the strong sheared E × B flow has the ability to slow the blob radial motion via stretching its poloidal correlation length. The locally accumulated blobs are suggested to be responsible for the increase of plasma density just outside the Last Closed Flux Surface (LCFS) observed in this experiment. The results presented here reveal the significant role played by the strong sheared E × B flow on the blob dynamics, which provides a potential method to control the SOL width by modifying the sheared E × B flow in future tokamak plasmas.

The great demographic pressure brings tremendous volume of beef demand. The key to solve this problem is the growth and development of Chinese cattle. In order to find molecular markers conducive to the growth and development of Chinese cattle, sequencing was used to determine the position of copy number variations (CNVs), bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the function of ZNF146 gene, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for CNV genotyping and one-way analysis of variance was used for association analysis. The results showed that there exists CNV in Chr 18: 47225201-47229600 (5.0.1 version) of ZNF146 gene through the early sequencing results in the laboratory and predicted ZNF146 gene was expressed in liver, skeletal muscle and breast cells, and was amplified or overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, which promoted the development of tumour through bioinformatics. Therefore, it is predicted that ZNF146 gene affects the proliferation of muscle cells, and then affects the growth and development of cattle. Furthermore, CNV genotyping of ZNF146 gene was three types (deletion type, normal type and duplication type) by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR). The association analysis results showed that ZNF146-CNV was significantly correlated with rump length of Qinchuan cattle, hucklebone width of Jiaxian red cattle and heart girth of Yunling cattle. From the above results, ZNF146-CNV had a significant effect on growth traits, which provided an important candidate molecular marker for growth and development of Chinese cattle.

Using detailed data on company visits by Chinese mutual funds, we provide direct evidence of mutual fund information acquisition activities and the consequent informational advantages mutual funds establish in local firms. Mutual funds are more likely to visit local and nearby firms both in and outside of their portfolios, but the ease of travel between fund and firm locations can substantially alleviate geographic distance constraints. Company visits by mutual funds are strongly associated with both fund trading activities and fund trading performance. Our results show that geographic constraints and costly information acquisition amplify information asymmetry in financial markets.

The incidence of scarlet fever has increased dramatically in recent years in Chongqing, China, but there has no effective method to forecast it. This study aimed to develop a forecasting model of the incidence of scarlet fever using a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model. Monthly scarlet fever data between 2011 and 2019 in Chongqing, China were retrieved from the Notifiable Infectious Disease Surveillance System. From 2011 to 2019, a total of 5073 scarlet fever cases were reported in Chongqing, the male-to-female ratio was 1.44:1, children aged 3–9 years old accounted for 81.86% of the cases, while 42.70 and 42.58% of the reported cases were students and kindergarten children, respectively. The data from 2011 to 2018 were used to fit a SARIMA model and data in 2019 were used to validate the model. The normalised Bayesian information criterion (BIC), the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean squared error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the fitted model. The optimal SARIMA model was identified as (3, 1, 3) (3, 1, 0)12. The RMSE and mean absolute per cent error (MAPE) were used to assess the accuracy of the model. The RMSE and MAPE of the predicted values were 19.40 and 0.25 respectively, indicating that the predicted values matched the observed values reasonably well. Taken together, the SARIMA model could be employed to forecast scarlet fever incidence trend, providing support for scarlet fever control and prevention.

A smart morphing winglet driven by piezoelectric Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) is designed to adjust cant angle autonomously for various flight conditions. The smart morphing winglet is composed of the MFC actuator, DC-DC converter, power supply, winglet part and wing part. A hinge is designed to transfer the bending deformation of intelligent MFC bending actuator to rotation of the winglet structure so as to achieve the adaptive cant angle. Experimental and numerical work are conducted to evaluate the performance of smart morphing winglet. It is demonstrated that the proposed intelligent MFC bending actuator has an excellent bending performance and load resistance. This smart morphing winglet exhibits the excellent characteristic of flexibility on large deformation and lightweight. Moreover, a series of wind tunnel tests are performed, which demonstrate that the winglet driven by intelligent MFC bending actuator produces sufficient deformation in various wind speed. At high wind speed, the cant angle of the winglet can reach 16 degrees, which is still considered to be very useful for improving the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. The aerodynamic characteristics are investigated by wind tunnel tests with various attack angles. As a result, when the morphing winglet is actuated, the lift-to-drag ratio could vary up to 11.9% and 6.4%, respectively, under wind speeds of 5.4 and 8.5m/s. Meanwhile, different flight phases such as take-off, cruise and landing are considered to improve aerodynamic performance by adjusting the cant angle of winglet. The smart morphing winglet varies the aerofoil autonomously by controlling the low winglet device input voltage to remain optimal aerodynamic performance during the flight process. It demonstrates the feasibility of piezoelectric composites driving intelligent aircraft.

Let $\mathcal {O}(\pi )$ denote the number of odd parts in an integer partition $\pi$. In 2005, Stanley introduced a new statistic $\operatorname {srank}(\pi )=\mathcal {O}(\pi )-\mathcal {O}(\pi ')$, where $\pi '$ is the conjugate of $\pi$. Let $p(r,\,m;n)$ denote the number of partitions of $n$ with srank congruent to $r$ modulo $m$. Generating function identities, congruences and inequalities for $p(0,\,4;n)$ and $p(2,\,4;n)$ were then established by a number of mathematicians, including Stanley, Andrews, Swisher, Berkovich and Garvan. Motivated by these works, we deduce some generating functions and inequalities for $p(r,\,m;n)$ with $m=16$ and $24$. These results are refinements of some inequalities due to Swisher.

Pneumatic launch systems for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), including mechanical and pneumatic systems, are complex and non-linear. They are subjected to system parameters during launch, which leads to difficulty in engineering research analysis. For example, the mismatch between the UAV parameters and the parameter design indices of the launch system as well as the unclear design indices of the launching speed and overload of UAVs have a great impact on launch safety. Considering this situation, some studies are presented in this paper. Taking the pneumatic launch system as a research object, a pneumatic launcher dynamic simulation model is built based on co-simulation considering the coupling characteristics of the mechanical structure and transmission system. Its accuracy was verified by laboratory test results. Based on this model, the paper shows the effects of the key parameters, including the mass of the UAV, cylinder volume, pressure and moment of inertia of the pulley block, on the performance of the dynamic characteristics of the launch process. Then, a method for matching the parameter characteristics between the UAV and launch system based on batch simulation is proposed. The set of matching parameter values of the UAV and launch system that satisfy the launch take-off safety criteria are calculated. Finally, the influence of the system parameters of the launch process on the launch performance was analysed in detail, and the design optimised. Meaningful conclusions were obtained. The analysis method and its results can provide a reference for engineering and theoretical research and development of pneumatic launch systems.

Considering the shortcomings of current methods for real-time resolution of two-aircraft flight conflicts, a geometric optimal conflict resolution and recovery method based on the velocity obstacle method for two aircraft and a cooperative conflict resolution method for multiple aircraft are proposed. The conflict type was determined according to the relative position and velocity of the aircraft, and a corresponding conflict mitigation strategy was selected. A resolution manoeuvre and a recovery manoeuvre were performed. On the basis of a two-aircraft conflict resolution model, a multi-aircraft cooperative conflict resolution game was constructed to identify an optimal solution for maximising group welfare. The solution and recovery method is simple and effective, and no new flight conflicts are introduced during track recovery. For multi-aircraft conflict resolution, an equilibrium point that maximises the welfare function of the group was identified, and thus, an optimal strategy for multi-aircraft conflict resolution was obtained.

Carrier-based unmanned aerial aircraft (UAV) structure is subjected to severe tensile load during takeoff, especially the drawbar, which affects its fatigue performance and structural safety. However, the complex structural features pose great challenges for the engineering design. Considering this situation, a structural design, fatigue analysis, and parameters optimisation joint working platform are urgently needed to solve this problem. In this study, numerical analysis of strain fatigue is carried out based on the laboratory fatigue failure of the carrier-based aircraft drawbar. Taking the sensitivity of drawbar parameters to stress and life into account and optimum design of drawbar with fatigue life as a target using the parametric method, this study also includes cutting-edge parameters of milling cutters, structural details of the drawbar and so on. Then an experimental design is applied using the Latin hypercube sampling method, and a surrogate model based on RBF neural network is established. Lastly, a multi-island genetic algorithm is introduced for optimisation. The results show that the error between the obtained optimal solution and simulation is 0.26%, while the optimised stress level is reduced by 15.7%, and the life of the drawbar is increased by 122%.