Asymptotic properties of an HIV/AIDS model with a time delay

A mathematical model for HIV/AIDS with explicit incubation period is presented as a system of discrete time delay differential equations and its important mathematical features are analysed. The disease-free and endemic equilibria are found and their local stability investigated. We use the Lyapunov functional approach to show the global stability of the endemic equilibrium. Qualitative analysis of the model including positivity and boundedness of solutions, and persistence are also presented. The HIV/AIDS model is numerically analysed to asses the effects of incubation period on the dynamics of HIV/AIDS and the demographic impact of the epidemic using the demographic and epidemiological parameters for Zimbabwe.     

Functional Stabilization of Cellulase from Aspergillus niger by Conjugation with Dextran-aldehyde

The covalent conjugates of cellulase from Aspergillus niger were prepared with various molar ratios by using dextran. The conjugate (n_E/n_D: 1/5) showed higher activity than purified enzyme at all temperatures after 1 h of incubation and its activity could also be measured at higher temperature. Also, this conjugate lost only 60% activity in 2 h at 70°C in comparison to the purified enzyme, which lost all its activity. In addition, conjugation protected cellulase against denaturation in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate (residual activity of about 80%) and inactivation by air bubbles (residual activity of about 50% for 4 h).     

光敏剂对肿瘤细胞损伤效应与孵育时间关系的拉曼光谱分析

利用拉曼光谱研究光敏剂与HepG2肝癌细胞不同孵育时间的光动力损伤效应。结果表明孵育时间与光动力损伤效应成正相关性,但孵育时间超过一定值,延长孵育时间并不能提高光动力损伤效应。     

A model for studying the kinetics of the formation of Fe2B boride layers at the surface of a gray cast iron

The present work estimates, using a kinetic model, the growth kinetics of Fe₂B boride layers generated at the surface of a gray cast iron via the powder-pack boriding considering three different temperatures (1173, 1223 and 1273 K) and four treatment times (2, 4, 6 and 8 h). By the use of the mass balance equation at the (Fe₂B/substrate) interface under certain assumptions and considering the effect of the boride incubation time, it was possible to estimate the corresponding parabolic growth constant in terms of two parameters and β(T) depending on the boron content in the Fe₂B phase and on the process temperature, respectively. The mass gain at the material surface and the instantaneous velocity of the (Fe₂B/substrate) interface were also estimated. A fairly good agreement was observed between the experimental parabolic growth constants taken from a reference work (Campos-Silva et al., Characterization of boride layers formed at the surface of gray cast irons, Kovove Mater. 47 (2009) 1-7.) and the simulated values of the parabolic growth constants. Furthermore, the boride layer thicknesses were predicted and experimentally verified for three process temperatures and four treatment times.     

红外热成像与近红外光谱结合快速检测潜育期番茄花叶病

现有的番茄花叶病无损检测方法无法在潜育期内,即显症之前进行早期识别导致施药不及时或者盲目过度施药。设计与试制了红外热成像信息采集系统,主要包括：光箱、红外热成像仪、温度及升降控制器、加热板和升降载物台。该系统能够根据温度起止节点的要求,人为调节拍摄温度。在江苏大学现代农业装备与技术省部共建重点实验室Venlo型温室中进行非抗病性番茄品种辽宁农科院L-402的培育。采用叶面摩擦接种花叶病毒(Tobacccco mosaic virus, ToMV),分为轻度感染组(LI),重度感染组(SI);LI组为磷酸缓冲液稀释500倍后的病毒液接种,SI组为病毒原液接种。对照组(CG)喷施等量磷酸缓冲液。接种10 d后叶片开始出现病斑,证明接种后9 d为番茄花叶病的潜育期。使用红外热成像系统采集了三个组共计144个样本的红外热成像图,计算叶表最大温差(MTD) 以表征潜育期内连续9 d内的叶面温度变化情况。CG组叶片的MTD值差异极小,而接种后叶片MTD值随着病毒侵染时间的推进发生了显著的变化。接种6 d后MTD值差异最大可达1.63 ℃,第7 d开始差异逐步缩小,表明病毒的扩散范围增大导致病叶越来越多的区域被侵染使得整体叶温上升。光谱采集采用两种方法进行,一种是根据热像图的MTD值计算判别出温度突变区域后采集光谱,记为热像采集法(TCM);另一种是不考虑病灶位置,在叶尖、叶中、叶基三个区域分别随机选择一个点采集光谱后求平均值,记为随机采集法(RCM)。TCM确定三个光谱采集点的选择原则是：LI组接种后3,6和9 d的温度突变区域平均MTD值比CG组温度分别高出0.3,0.7和0.5 ℃。SI组接种后3,6和9 d的温度突变区域平均MTD值比CG组温度分别高出0.5,1.2,0.8 ℃。差值达到此标准的病灶位置才定为TCM的可选区域。对所有样本采用支持向量机(SVM)算法建立识别模型。采用主成分分析对2 151个波长点的光谱信息进行压缩,前6个主成分所对应的累积方差贡献率已到达99%。分别对感病3,6和9 d的样本按照2∶1的比例划分校正集和预测集,对预测集样本的病害程度进行识别。两种方法所建立的模型的总识别率分别为92.59%和99.77%。采用TCM建立的光谱识别模型中仅有接种后3 d的一个LI组样本未能识别出来,被误判成CG组样本外,其余组识别率均达到了100%。结果表明近红外光谱法识别番茄花叶病是可行的。采用红外热成像结合近红外光谱法能够建立识别率更高的番茄花叶病潜育期识别模型,克服点源采样随机性,对后续管控流程和突破作物早期精准用药的关键技术探索,建立更为精准的温室智能施药系统提供了新的思路。     

Calorimetric investigations on mound-building birds

Megapodes, and mound-building birds of the Pacific, incubate their eggs underground where the heat is supplied by organic decomposition, solar radiation, or geothermal sources. The incubation biology of the Australian mound builders has been examined from the standpoints of (1) the energetic requirements of malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) to construct and maintain incubation mounds and (2) the physics, physiology, and behavior concerning mound thermoregulation of the brush turkey (Alectura lathami).

The energetic cost of mound tending in malleefowl is estimated by indirect calorimetry. The power required for digging into the mound to reach the eggs is approximately 20 W, or 3.8 times the basal metabolic rate of the bird. About 850 kg of sand has to be removed and replaced on the mound every time it is opened, a task requiring about 5 h. The overall energy investment for incubation for the entire 9 month season is 2.5 times that expected in similarly sized birds.

Brush turkey mounds become homeothermic because of (1) the high thermal inertia of their 3–11 t mass and (2) a stable equilibrium that is reached between heat production and heat loss. The mound tends to seek the equilibrium, but the bird adjusts the temperature by subtle manipulation of the mound. At an equilibrium temperature of 33°C, the mound produces about 110 W. Empirical data from natural mounds, set in the context of a numerical model of heat production and heat flux in the mound, indicate that equilibrium temperature is extremely sensitive to ambient temperature and mound size, but not water content. Wet or dry mounds can maintain appropriate incubation temperature, but the dry ones have low thermal conductivity, retain the heat well, and minimize the amount of forest litter collected during the incubation season.     

Evolution of surface roughness of some metallic materials in cavitation erosion

The evolution of surface roughness of three common metallic materials (316L stainless steel, CP titanium, and brass) in ultrasonic vibratory cavitation tests was monitored using profilometric measurements. Three stages of roughness change, based on the rate of change of the mean surface roughness d(Ra)/dt, may be identified. In stage I (initial stage), Ra increases almost linearly with the test time; in stage II (transition stage), the rate decreases until stage III (steady-state stage) is reached, in which Ra remains unchanged. Concurrent measurements of mass loss in the ultrasonic cavitation test indicated that stage I approximately coincides with the incubation stage, stage II approximately coincides with the acceleration stage, and stage III approximately coincides with the maximum erosion rate stage as defined by ASTM Standard G 32. Compared with conventional mass loss measurements in assessing material degradation in cavitation erosion, surface roughness measurements provide an alternative and convenient method which possesses several advantages. In the first place, change in surface roughness provides information of material response before mass loss is detected. Secondly, there is no restriction of the size of the component, while weighing is suitable for small samples only. Thirdly, mass loss reflects erosion of the whole surface under cavitation attack, and the mean depth of penetration or erosion only gives an average loss, while in roughness measurement, damage in specific locations may be studied. The present study indicates that roughness measurement may constitute a practical method for monitoring damage in industrial ultrasonic cleaners.     

基于近红外光谱技术的小麦条锈病菌潜伏侵染的检测

为实现对受到小麦条锈病菌侵染而尚未表现明显症状的小麦叶片进行早期检测,利用近红外光谱技术结合定性偏最小二乘法建立了小麦条锈病潜育期叶片定性识别模型。获取健康叶片30片、条锈病潜育期叶片330片(每天取30片,共11天)和发病叶片30片,扫描获得其近红外光谱曲线。采用内部交叉验证法建模,研究了不同谱区、建模比(建模集∶检验集)、光谱预处理方法和主成分数对建模识别效果的影响。在5 400~6 600和7 600~8 900cm-1组合谱区内,建模比为4∶1、预处理方法为"散射校正"和主成分数为14时,所建模型识别效果较理想,建模集的识别准确率、错误率和混淆率分别为95.51%,1.28%和3.21%;检验集的识别准确率、错误率和混淆率分别为100.00%,0.00%和0.00%。结果表明,利用近红外光谱技术可在接种1天后(即提前11天)识别出健康小麦叶片和受到条锈病菌侵染的小麦叶片,并且可以识别不同潜育期天数的叶片。因此,利用近红外光谱技术对条锈病菌潜伏侵染检测是可行的,为该病早期诊断提供了一种新途径。     

基于热红外成像的小麦条锈病早期检测

由条形柄锈菌引起的小麦条锈病是一种世界性范围内普遍流行的重大病害,实现其早期检测对病害的有效防控与小麦的安全生产具有重要意义。旨在实验室环境下分析小麦接种条锈病菌后16天的热红外图像与叶片温度变化,研究热红外成像技术用于小麦条锈病早期检测的可行性。实验发现,随着接种天数的增加,接种病害的小麦植株较健康小麦,叶片的平均温度会逐渐降低,叶片间的最大温差会不断加大。接种后第6天,热红外成像技术可观测到小麦条锈病病斑,较肉眼观察提前了4天。接种后第16天,接种叶片的平均温度比健康叶片低2.5 ℃,最大温差比健康叶片高2.28 ℃。同时,通过对健康、发病以及潜伏期的小麦叶片的显微结构分析,发现条锈病孢子入侵叶片,使细胞结构破环,气孔导度增大,蒸腾作用加剧,从而导致叶片表面温度降低。可见,热红外成像技术可以对小麦条锈病进行早期检测。     

A simple model for the growth kinetics of Fe2B iron boride on pure iron substrate

The present work evaluates the growth kinetics of Fe₂B iron boride forming on iron substrate by means of a diffusion model in the temperature range 1223-1323 K. The model takes into account the effect of the boride incubation time during the formation of Fe₂B phase. The parabolic growth constant at the (Fe₂B/Fe) interface and the mass gain generated by this treatment were estimated. Likewise a simple relationship was proposed to describe the variation of the parabolic growth constant as a function of both the temperature and the boron content in the Fe₂B phase. Furthermore, the simulation results show a good agreement with our experimental results.