Suitability of traffic load models in Codes to derive maximum load effects in long-span cable-stayed bridges

Report · 2025-01-01

<p>Accurate calculation of load effects from heavy traffic is critical for assessing the safety of long-span cable-stayed bridges. As bridge spans increase, understanding their structural response under extreme traffic loads becomes essential for an appropriate design. Current traffic load models in national and international codes, designed for shorter spans, may not accurately assess the effects of real traffic in long-span bridges. This study examined three long-span cable-stayed bridges (200– 1000 meters) using WIM-measured traffic data and a probabilistic model to evaluate extreme response scenarios and maximum load effects. Comparisons with relevant national and international codes revealed that these models are often unsuitable for long-span bridges, being either overly conservative or insufficiently safe. Therefore, calibration of specific traffic load models for such bridges is therefore essential.</p>

Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots and Their Effects on Crop Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

ACS Omega · 2025-09-09

Nanomaterials are helping to transform agricultural production, playing a crucial role in achieving sustainable development, increasing crop yields, and addressing the safety of fertilizer use. The advantages of carbon dots (CDs) in the application of new agriculture are apparent. This study combined the advantages of CDs to explore the positive effects of CDs doped with essential elements on plant growth. In this regard, for the first time, we prepared nitrogen-doped CDs (N-CDs) with blue fluorescence emission by a microwave reaction with succinic acid using m-phenylenediamine (MPD) as the nitrogen source, and studied their effects on crop growth and development. The morphology, structure, and fluorescence properties of the N-CDs were analyzed using various characterization methods. N-CDs exhibited good stability with an average particle size of 2.20 nm. The optimal emission wavelength was 360 nm, the maximum fluorescence emission peak was 452 nm, and the absolute quantum yield (QY) was 35.60%. The results of the effect of N-CDs on crop growth and development showed that the highest germination rate (86.67%, 68.33%), vigor index (127.76%, 15.31%), and biomass in maize and tomato were observed after treatment with 0.010 mg/mL N-CDs. With increasing N-CDs concentration, the indices first increased and then decreased, with significant growth inhibition observed at excessively high concentrations. Therefore, appropriate concentrations of N-CDs can enhance the development of crop seedlings. This study lays the foundation for the nanofertilization applications of CDs, which could be further doped with potassium, phosphorus, and other important plant nutrients.

Effects of Combined Oregano Essential Oil and Macleaya cordata Extract on Growth, Antioxidant Capacity, Immune Function, and Fecal Microbiota in Broilers

Veterinary Sciences · 2025-12-16

With the growing demand for antibiotic-free and sustainable poultry production, plant-derived antimicrobials have emerged as promising alternatives. However, a systematic understanding of the combined effects of oregano essential oil (OEO) and Macleaya cordata extract (MCE) on the broiler gut microbiome remains lacking. This study employed an integrated “structure–function–phenotype” framework to investigate the individual and combined (OMS) effects of OEO and MCE on gut microecological remodeling and its coupling with host growth, metabolic, and immune phenotypes. A total of 960 one-day-old broiler chicks were individually weighed and then randomly allocated to four treatments using body-weight-stratified randomization, with 6 replicate pens per treatment and 40 birds per pen, to ensure similar initial body weight across groups. Over a 42-day trial, we evaluated growth performance, serum biochemistry, antioxidant status, and immune parameters. Compared to the control, the OMS treatment significantly enhanced average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG), increased serum total protein (TP), and decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). However, the feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) was also higher in the OMS group, indicating that the improvement in growth rate did not translate into enhanced feed efficiency but was primarily driven by increased feed consumption. OMS also improved overall antioxidant capacity and key enzyme activities, elevated immunoglobulin levels, and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines. Notably, OMS maintained Lactobacillus dominance, enriched Bacteroides, Enterococcus, and Butyricicoccus, and reduced Escherichia–Shigella. Functional predictions via PICRUSt2 suggested enhanced metabolic pathways related to antioxidant and immune functions; however, these results represent inference-based predictions and should be interpreted cautiously. Overall, the combination of OEO and MCE exerted synergistic benefits on growth, physiological health, and gut microbiota, supporting its potential as a phytogenic strategy for antibiotic-free broiler production.

Melanoma MHC-I-membrane-encapsulated Cu@ferrihydrite induces ferroptosis/cuproptosis and systematic immunity against tumor

Journal of Controlled Release · 2025-10-01 · 3 citations

Residue Elimination Patterns and Determination of the Withdrawal Times of Seven Antibiotics in Taihang Chickens

Animals · 2025-07-28 · 1 citations

Antibiotic residues in poultry pose health and resistance risks, necessitating breed-specific WDTs. In this study, the residue elimination patterns of seven antibiotics in Taihang chicken tissues under free-range conditions were studied and the appropriate WDT was formulated. A total of 240 healthy Taihang chickens aged 100 days were randomly divided into 8 groups, each comprising 30 chickens. Chickens in groups 1 to 7 were administered oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, erythromycin, tylosin, tylvalosin, lincomycin, and tiamulin, respectively. Regarding the administration method, we adopted the highest dose and maximum course of treatment recommended by the Veterinary Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Group 8 served as the control group. Muscle, sebum, liver, and kidney samples were collected at 4 h, 1 d, 2 d, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 10 d, 13 d, and 16 d after drug withdrawal. Our results demonstrated that the drug residues after drug withdrawal gradually decreased with the increase in drug withdrawal days, and the elimination rate in the early stage of drug withdrawal was significantly faster than that in the later stage. At 4 h after drug withdrawal, the drug residues in various tissues reached their highest values. In most cases, the drug concentrations in the kidney and liver were higher than those in the muscles and sebum; however, some drugs also exhibited concentration peaks in the sebum. On the first day of drug withdrawal, the amount of residues in various tissues decreased rapidly. In general, the elimination rate of various drugs in the muscles, liver, and kidneys is faster but slower in the sebum. Based on the WDT calculation software WT1.4, the recommended WDTs for oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, erythromycin, tylosin, tylvalosin, lincomycin, and tiamulin chickens are 4 d, 5 d, 11 d, 8 d, 13 d, 13 d, and 7 d, respectively. These findings support food safety and industry development.

Structural alignment of ZnO columns across multiple monolayer MoS₂ layers as compliant substrates

Nanoscale · 2024-01-01 · 3 citations

heterostructure with type-I band alignment. Our findings will have a scientific impact on realizing 2D/3D heterostructures for practical device applications.

A Novel Image Dehazing Method Using Adaptive Dark Channel Prior

Communications in computer and information science · 2024-01-01

Anchor Carbon Dots Inside Nh2-Mil-88b Via Ship-in-A-Bottle Strategy for Dual Signal Enhancement in Colourimetric Fluorescent Sensors

SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

Advances in the synthesis of gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) of proteins extracted from nature

Nanotechnology Reviews · 2024-01-01 · 6 citations

Abstract Over the past few decades, nanotechnology has developed rapidly and has been applied to various fields. Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), which are composed of several hundred atoms, are a new type of nanomaterial. AuNCs are often synthesized using ligands or templates. The interaction between the gold atoms and the groups of the ligands or templates results in unexpected physical and chemical properties. In recent studies, natural proteins have often been used as templates to synthesize AuNCs. The unique structure of natural proteins endows AuNCs with biological functions, such as biocompatibility and enzymatic activity. The unique properties of these natural protein-AuNCs have been verified and applied in various fields. In this article, the synthetic strategies used to produce AuNCs have been divided into two categories: animal-derived and plant-derived protein synthesis. The protein types and synthesis strategies used in the current mainstream research are reviewed, and their applications in detection and biological imaging are summarized. Finally, the problems and future development directions of AuNCs synthesized from natural proteins are discussed, laying a foundation for the biological application of protein-AuNCs.

Area-selective deposition of germanium on patterned graphene/monolayer molybdenum disulfide stacks via dipole engineering

APL Materials · 2024-03-01

Heterogeneous integration of two-dimensional materials and the conventional semiconductor has opened opportunities for next-generation semiconductor devices and their processing. Heterogeneous integration has been studied for economical manufacturing by substrate recycling and novel functionalities by a combination of incommensurate materials. However, utilizing the integration requires controlling locations of the integrated architectures. Here, we show area-selective deposition (ASD) of germanium on the graphene/MoS2 stack. Ge nucleation precisely occurred on the surfaces of the patterned graphene/MoS2 stack via dipole engineering. In this study, the growth temperature of ASD of Ge was significantly lower than that based on precursor desorption on SiO2. The first-principles calculations revealed that Ge deposited by ASD on the graphene/MoS2 stack was not affected by charge transfer. This work provides a viable way to utilize atomically thin materials for next-generation semiconductor devices, which can be applicable for “Beyond Moore” and “More Moore” approaches.