[en] A surface water quality analysis and pollutant diffusion simulation system was studied and developed using WebGIS. This paper introduces the structural design, technology development and main functions of the system. Using Liyang City of Jiangsu Province as an example, an environmental water monitoring database was established. Based on the database, a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of water quality in Liyang City were determined and provided decision support for pollution management. In addition, two authoritative water pollution diffusion analysis models (including a one-dimensional model and a two-dimensional model) were integrated, and a dynamic simulation of water pollution accidents was constructed with the support of GIS technology. (paper)

[en] The design of high-altitude and long-endurance solar aircraft is obviously different from that of conventional aircraft. Its unique energy system and operating conditions make it necessary to carefully weigh the key technical details in design. The structure has a great influence on the endurance performance of solar aircraft. The structure weight can be roughly estimated by the proportion of the airborne energy system to the total weight of the aircraft, so as to optimize the structure. Through the analysis of several typical solar aircraft, it can be concluded that the aerodynamic layout and structure design have a great impact on the flight time and performance of solar aircraft. Finally, the challenges faced by solar aircraft are presented, which can provide reference for the design of solar aircraft in the future and help. (paper)

[en] In general, annealing twins (Σ3 boundaries) are induced in face-centered cubic metals by thermal–mechanical processes. We report on the Σ3 boundary-induced plasticity enhancement of pure iron treated by a pulsed electric current subject to its allotropic transformation of α → γ → α. The behavior is attributed to an increased amount of Σ3 boundaries with the grain-boundary interconnection evolution from {112}/{112} to {110}/{110} resulting from the increasing pulsed-electric-current intensity. The results provide an alternative pathway to fabricate high-performance metallic materials by tailoring special grain boundaries.

[en] Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), as cells shed from solid tumor into the vasculature, play a significant role in tumor metastasis. In the peripheral blood, immune cells and stromal cells can interact with CTCs and influence their biological behaviors of survival, proliferation, dissemination, and immune evasion. These peripheral blood cells can evolve synergistically with CTCs to constitute the liquid microenvironment which is essential for tumor progression. Here, we review the mechanisms of peripheral blood cells interacting with CTCs and uncover their effects on both CTCs and tumor metastasis. Then, we introduce the applications of these CTC-associated peripheral blood cells in the clinical setting. Besides, some peripheral blood cell subsets are of additional clinical values to CTCs in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. To improve the clinical utility of CTCs, an integrative analysis of CTCs and associated peripheral blood cells should be advocated for, which could provide a novel insight into tumor biology and offer comprehensive information in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy efficacy evaluation.

[en] We review experimental observations of space-charge effects and collective phenomena in charged particle beams for accelerator applications. These include halo formation and emittance growth, bunch profile evolution, space-charge waves, and longitudinal instabilities. We also report on the development of the University of Maryland Electron Ring for the study of space-charge physics in a circular lattice

[en] In situ high-pressure energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction measurements on α-LiIO₃ have been performed by using a diamond anvil cell device with synchrotron radiation up to 75 GPa at room temperature. No new phase was found. The second Birch-Murnaghan equation of state is fitted with B₀ = 55 ± 3 GPa for the zero-pressure bulk modulus, B₀' = 2.9 ± 0.4 for its pressure derivative

[en] We report the discovery of a 206 ms pulsar associated with the TeV γ-ray source HESS J1640–465 using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) X-ray observatory. PSR J1640–4631 lies within the shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) G338.3–0.0, and coincides with an X-ray point source and putative pulsar wind nebula (PWN) previously identified in XMM-Newton and Chandra images. It is spinning down rapidly with period derivative P-dot = 9.758(44) × 10^–13, yielding a spin-down luminosity E-dot = 4.4 × 10³⁶ erg s^–1, characteristic age τ_c≡P/2 P-dot = 3350 yr, and surface dipole magnetic field strength B_s = 1.4 × 10¹³ G. For the measured distance of 12 kpc to G338.3–0.0, the 0.2-10 TeV luminosity of HESS J1640–465 is 6% of the pulsar's present E-dot . The Fermi source 1FHL J1640.5–4634 is marginally coincident with PSR J1640–4631, but we find no γ-ray pulsations in a search using five years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data. The pulsar energetics support an evolutionary PWN model for the broadband spectrum of HESS J1640–465, provided that the pulsar's braking index is n ≈ 2, and that its initial spin period was P ₀ ∼ 15 ms.

[en] We present the results of a NuSTAR study of the dynamically confirmed stellar-mass black hole GS 1354−645. The source was observed during its 2015 “hard” state outburst; we concentrate on spectra from two relatively bright phases. In the higher-flux observation, the broadband NuSTAR spectra reveal a clear, strong disk reflection spectrum, blurred by a degree that requires a black hole spin of $a=cJ/{GM}^2⩾<!--\; ???\; -->0.98$ ($1\mathrm{\sigma <!--\; ??\; -->}$ statistical limits only). The fits also require a high inclination: $\mathrm{\theta <!--\; ??\; -->}\simeq <!--\; ???\; -->75{(2)}^{\circ <!--\; ???\; -->}$. Strong “dips” are sometimes observed in the X-ray light curves of sources viewed at such an angle; these are absent, perhaps indicating that dips correspond to flared disk structures that only manifest at higher accretion rates. In the lower flux observation, there is evidence of radial truncation of the thin accretion disk. We discuss these results in the context of spin in stellar-mass black holes, and inner accretion flow geometries at moderate accretion rates.

[en] We report on four epochs of observations of the quasar PG 1211+143 using NuSTAR. The net exposure time is 300 ks. Prior work on this source found suggestive evidence of an ultra-fast outflow (UFO) in the Fe K band with a velocity of approximately 0.1c. The putative flow would carry away a high-mass flux and kinetic power, with broad implications for feedback and black hole--galaxy co-evolution. NuSTAR detects PG 1211+143 out to 30 keV, meaning that the continuum is well-defined both through and above the Fe K band. A characteristic relativistic disk reflection spectrum is clearly revealed via a broad Fe K emission line and Compton back-scattering curvature. The data offer only weak constraints on the spin of the black hole. A careful search for UFOs shows no significant absorption feature above 90% confidence. The limits are particularly tight when relativistic reflection is included. We discuss the statistics and the implications of these results in terms of connections between accretion onto quasars, Seyferts, and stellar-mass black holes, and feedback into their host environments

[en] We present results from the coordinated broadband X-ray observations of the extreme ultraluminous X-ray source Holmberg IX X-1 performed by NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Suzaku in late 2012. These observations provide the first high-quality spectra of Holmberg IX X-1 above 10 keV to date, extending the X-ray coverage of this remarkable source up to ∼30 keV. Broadband observations were undertaken at two epochs, between which Holmberg IX X-1 exhibited both flux and strong spectral variability, increasing in luminosity from L _X = (1.90 ± 0.03) × 10⁴⁰ erg s^–1 to L _X = (3.35 ± 0.03) × 10⁴⁰ erg s^–1. Neither epoch exhibits a spectrum consistent with emission from the standard low/hard accretion state seen in Galactic black hole binaries, which would have been expected if Holmberg IX X-1 harbors a truly massive black hole accreting at substantially sub-Eddington accretion rates. The NuSTAR data confirm that the curvature observed previously in the 3-10 keV bandpass does represent a true spectral cutoff. During each epoch, the spectrum appears to be dominated by two optically thick thermal components, likely associated with an accretion disk. The spectrum also shows some evidence for a nonthermal tail at the highest energies, which may further support this scenario. The available data allow for either of the two thermal components to dominate the spectral evolution, although both scenarios require highly nonstandard behavior for thermal accretion disk emission.