The cross-level and twist irregularities are the most dangerous irregularity types that could cause wheel unloading with the risk of derailments and additional maintenance expenses.However,the mechanism of the irregul...The cross-level and twist irregularities are the most dangerous irregularity types that could cause wheel unloading with the risk of derailments and additional maintenance expenses.However,the mechanism of the irregularities initiation and development is unclear.The motivation of the present study was the previous experimental studies on the application of wide sleepers in the ballasted track.The long-term track geometry measurements with wide sleepers show an enormous reduction of the vertical longitudinal irregularities compared to the conventional track.However,wide sleepers had higher twist and cross-section level irregularities.The present paper aims to explain the phenomenon by discrete element method(DEM)modeling the development process of sleeper inhomogeneous support at cross-level depending on the sleeper form.The DEM simulations show that the maximal settlement intensity is up to 3.5 times lower for a wide sleeper in comparison with the conventional one.Nevertheless,the cross-level differential settlements are almost the same for both sleepers.The particle loading distribution after all loading cycles is concentrated on the smaller area,up to the half sleeper length,with fully unloaded zones under sleeper ends.Ballast flow limitation under the central part of the sleeper could improve the resilience of wide sleepers to the development of cross-level irregularities.The mechanism of initiation of the cross-level irregularity is proposed,which assumes the loss of sleeper support under sleeper ends.The further growth of inhomogeneous settlements along the sleeper is assumed as a result of the interaction of two processes:ballast flow due to dynamic impact during void closing and on the other side high pressure due to the concentration of the pressure under the middle part of the sleeper.The DEM simulation results support the assumption of the mechanism and agree with the experimental studies.展开更多
The unsupported sleeper can change the load characteristics of ballast particles and thus affect the dynamic stability of a ballasted bed.In this work,a laboratory test was constructed on a ballasted track containing ...The unsupported sleeper can change the load characteristics of ballast particles and thus affect the dynamic stability of a ballasted bed.In this work,a laboratory test was constructed on a ballasted track containing unsupported sleepers.The ballasted track was excited by a wheelset,and the influence of unsupported sleepers on the dynamic stability of a ballasted bed was studied.The results show that the main frequency of the sleeper vibration appeared at 670 Hz,and the first-order rigid vibration mode at the frequency of 101 Hz had a significant effect on the condition without the unsupported sleeper.When the sleepers were continuously unsupported,the vibration damping effect of ballasted bed within the frequency range of 0–450 Hz was better than that at higher frequencies.Within the frequency range of 70–250 Hz,the vibration damping effect of the ballasted bed with unsupported sleepers was better than that without the unsupported sleeper.Owing to the excitation from the wheelset impact,the lateral resistance of the ballasted bed with unsupported sleepers whose hanging heights were 30,60,and 90 mm increased by 37.43%,12.25%,and 18.23%,respectively,while the lateral resistance of the ballasted bed without the unsupported sleeper remained basically unchanged.The unsupported sleeper could increase the difference in the quality of the ballasted bed between two adjacent sleepers.In addition,test results show that the hanging height of the unsupported sleeper had little effect on the lateral resistance of a ballasted bed without external excitation,but had an obvious effect on the rate of change of the lateral resistance of a ballasted bed and the acceleration amplitude of the sleeper vibration under the wheelset impact.展开更多
This paper describes the economic and technological benefits of installing continuous welded rail （CWR） track on sharp （radius≤300 m） railway curves. A new form of prestressed concrete sleepers developed by the V...This paper describes the economic and technological benefits of installing continuous welded rail （CWR） track on sharp （radius≤300 m） railway curves. A new form of prestressed concrete sleepers developed by the V. Lazaryan Dniprope- trovsk National University of Railway Transport is shown to improve the lateral shift resistance of CWR track in sharp curves and the use of anchor sleepers on tangents is shown to make it possible to lower the fastening temperature of the CWR track in order to increase the rail lifespan.展开更多
It is presented a State of the Art of international standards in the field of monoblock concrete sleepers design and calculation.Taking into account the fact that the Argentinian broad track gauge(1,676 mm)is differen...It is presented a State of the Art of international standards in the field of monoblock concrete sleepers design and calculation.Taking into account the fact that the Argentinian broad track gauge(1,676 mm)is different to international track gauge(1,435 mm)that is worldwide used,a comparative analysis is developed in order to evaluate the performance of internationals standards in the design of the sleepers used in Argentinian railways.Recommendations for future research are provided.展开更多
In this study,ultrahigh-performance fiber-reinforced concrete(UHPFRC)used in a type B70 concrete sleeper is investigated experimentally and parametrically.The main parameters investigated are the steel fiber volume fr...In this study,ultrahigh-performance fiber-reinforced concrete(UHPFRC)used in a type B70 concrete sleeper is investigated experimentally and parametrically.The main parameters investigated are the steel fiber volume fractions(0%,0.5%,1%,and 1.5%).Under European standards,35 UHPFRC sleepers are subjected to static bending tests at the center and rail seat sections,and the screw on the fastening system is pulled out.The first cracking load,failure load,failure mode,crack propagation,load–deflection curve,load–crack width,and failure load from these tests are measured and compared with those of a control sleeper manufactured using normal concrete C50.The accuracy of the parametric study is verified experimentally.Subsequently,the results of the study are applied to UHPFRC sleepers with different concrete volumes to investigate the effects of the properties of UHPFRC on their performance.Experimental and parametric study results show that the behavior of UHPFRC sleepers improves significantly when the amount of steel fiber in the mix is increased.Sleepers manufactured using UHPFRC with a steel fiber volume fraction of 1%and a concrete volume less than 25%that of standard sleeper B70 can be used under the same loads and requirements,which contributes positively to the cost and surrounding environment.展开更多
The meso-dynamical behaviour of a high-speed rail ballast bed with under sleeper pads(USPs)was studied.The geometrically irregular refined discrete element model of the ballast particles was constructed using 3D scann...The meso-dynamical behaviour of a high-speed rail ballast bed with under sleeper pads(USPs)was studied.The geometrically irregular refined discrete element model of the ballast particles was constructed using 3D scanning techniques,and the 3D dynamic model of the rail-sleeper-ballast bed was constructed using the coupled discrete element method-multiflexible-body dynamics(DEM-MFBD)approach.We analyse the meso-mechanical dynamics of the ballast bed with USPs under dynamic load on a train and verify the correctness of the model in laboratory tests.It is shown that the deformation of the USPs increases the contact area between the sleeper and the ballast particles,and subsequently the number of contacts between them.As the depth of the granular ballast bed increases,the contact area becomes larger,and the contact force between the ballast particles gradually decreases.Under the action of the elastic USPs,the contact forces between ballast particles are reduced and the overall vibration level of the ballast bed can be reduced.The settlement of the granular ballast bed occurs mainly at the shallow position of the sleeper bottom,and the installation of the elastic USPs can be effective in reducing the stress on the ballast particles and the settlement of the ballast bed.展开更多
Because non-buried submarine pipelines under cyclic thermal loading are prone to global buckling,sleepers are commonly laid along the pipeline route to induce a series of relatively small and controllable lateral buck...Because non-buried submarine pipelines under cyclic thermal loading are prone to global buckling,sleepers are commonly laid along the pipeline route to induce a series of relatively small and controllable lateral buckling.A finite element model which can simulate the transformation of pipeline laid on a sleeper from vertical buckling to lateral buckling is established in this work.The parameters of sleeper affecting pipeline buckling modes are analysed,and a new kind of sleeper is proposed aimed at avoiding antisymmetric buckling.Results show that the lateral trigger force can avoid antisymmetric lateral buckling when acting between 1℃and 13℃before the critical buckling temperature.The range increases slightly with increasing trigger force.Compared with an ordinary sleeper,the proposed new sleeper with slider can reduce the critical buckling temperature by 25%,which significantly improves the success rate of sleepers.展开更多
Purpose: This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of actigraphy to monitor sleep quality and quantity in healthy self-rated good sleeper adults at home-based settings. Method: Sixteen healthy vo...Purpose: This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of actigraphy to monitor sleep quality and quantity in healthy self-rated good sleeper adults at home-based settings. Method: Sixteen healthy volunteers (age > 18) were invited to participate. Each participant was provided with a wrist actigraph device to be worn for 24-hour/day for seven consecutive days to monitor their sleep-wake patterns. Actigraphy data were downloaded using-proprietary software to generate an individual-sleep report. Participants also completed a set of self-reported Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) using WHO (five) Well Being Index (WBI) questionnaires. Results: Actigraphy was well accepted by all participants. Only 43.8% of the participants achieved normal total sleep time (TST) and 62.5% had a mean sleep efficiency value below the normal range. Despite a reduced quality of sleep among the participants, the self-reported HRQOL scores produced by the WHO-5 WBI showed a “fair” to “good” among the participants. Conclusions: To maintain healthy well-being, it is vital to have efficient and quality sleep. Insufficient and poor sleep may contribute to various health problems and hazardous outcomes. People often believe they have normal and efficient sleep, not realising they may be developing poor sleep habits. This study found that actigraphy can be easily utilized to monitor sleep-wake patterns at home-based settings. We proposed that actigraphy could be adapted for use in the primary care settings (e.g. community pharmacy) to improve the sleep health management in the community.展开更多
In an attempt to study the relationship between sleep postures and sleep parameters assessed by actigraphy, we applied the newly developed Activity Monitoring and Evaluation System (A-MES) and actigraphy at the same t...In an attempt to study the relationship between sleep postures and sleep parameters assessed by actigraphy, we applied the newly developed Activity Monitoring and Evaluation System (A-MES) and actigraphy at the same time to younger and senior Japanese volunteer groups. It was found that sleep postures and diurnal activity determines, to some extent, sleep parameters including activity mean score (AMS), activity index (ACTX), waking episodes (WEP) and sleep fragmentation index (SFX). It was also found that sleep properties are different in younger and senior Japanese. For example, increase in the proportion of time in the supine position resulted in enhancement and deterioration of the sleep in the younger and senior groups, respectively. Furthermore, there were correlations between supine posture and AMS, ACTX, SFX, total minutes scored as awake (TMSA) and WEP obtained by actigraphy in the younger group, but only AMS and ACTX in senior group. In addition, we also assessed sleep parameters by use of questionnaires, and found that objective sleep quality was rather poor but subjective sleep quality was better in the senior group. In the younger group, in contrast, objective sleep quality was better but subjective sleep quality was poor. On the other hand, there was no correlation between sleep parameters assessed by actigraphy and self-report at all. The present study with A-MES and actigraphy provides the first evidence that sleep posture affects sleep quality and is a convenient, inexpensive and home-based method for studying sleep.展开更多
The effect of discrete support of rail on the formation and evolution of railcorrugation is primarily investigated with numerical method in the situation of wheelset curvingsteadily and repeatedly. In the numerical an...The effect of discrete support of rail on the formation and evolution of railcorrugation is primarily investigated with numerical method in the situation of wheelset curvingsteadily and repeatedly. In the numerical analysis of corrugation it is considered that acombination of Kalker's rolling contact theory with non-Hertzian to be modified, a linear frictionalwork model and a vertical dynamics model of railway vehicle coupled with a curved track. And theuneven support stiffness of rail in the vertical direction due to discrete sleeper support and thedifferent running speed of the wheelset are taken into consideration. The damage on the runningsurface of rail, concerning rail corrugation formation, is restricted to wear mechanism of railmaterial. The numerical results obtained indicate that the discrete supports of rail by sleepershave a great influence on the formation of the corrugation under the condition of non-zero andstable creepages of wheelset and track.展开更多
With the development of high-speed and heavy-haul railway in China, problems like insufficient thickness of ballast bed and overlarge track stiffness are obvious. Ballast may break into small particles and their conta...With the development of high-speed and heavy-haul railway in China, problems like insufficient thickness of ballast bed and overlarge track stiffness are obvious. Ballast may break into small particles and their contact status will deteriorate under cyclic loading, resulting in ballast degradation. Discrete element method(DEM) was used to research improved performance of ballast bed using elastic sleeper. Clusters were generated by bonding spheres to model real ballasts, while broken bonds were utilized to distinguish breakage. Two kinds of ballast beds with elastic sleeper and conventional sleeper were established, respectively. After applying cyclic loading to the models, differences of mechanical properties between two models were analyzed by contrasting their dynamic behavior indexes, such as particle contact force, sleeper settlement, vibration velocity and acceleration, breakage characteristic. The results illustrate that compared with conventional sleeper, elastic sleeper increases sleeper settlement, while reduces ballast vibration and contact force between particles, which could depress ballast breakage.展开更多
The lateral resistance of sleeper plays an important role in ensuring the stability of a railway track, which may change in the operation of railway, due to the fouling in the ballast bed. In this work, discrete eleme...The lateral resistance of sleeper plays an important role in ensuring the stability of a railway track, which may change in the operation of railway, due to the fouling in the ballast bed. In this work, discrete element method was adopted to investigate the effect of fouling on the lateral resistance of sleeper. The shape information of ballast was captured by method of three-dimensional vision reconstruction. In order to calibrate the mechanical parameters and verify the models, a lateral resistance field test was carried out by using a custom-made device. The contact force distributions in the different parts of sleeper as well as the interaction between ballast and sleeper were discussed in depth. The results show that fouling of ballast bed evidently reduces the lateral resistance of sleeper and the decreasing degree is also related to the fouled position of ballast bed, in the order of shoulder > bottom > side.Therefore, the effect of fouling, especially the fouling in the ballast shoulder, on the lateral resistance of sleeper, should be taken into account in ballast track maintenance work.展开更多
The rates of oxygen consumption, tolerance of hypoxia and desiccation of the Chinese black sleeper （ Bostrichthys sinensis） and mudskipper （Boleophthalmus pectinirostris） embryos were investigated. The pattern of ...The rates of oxygen consumption, tolerance of hypoxia and desiccation of the Chinese black sleeper （ Bostrichthys sinensis） and mudskipper （Boleophthalmus pectinirostris） embryos were investigated. The pattern of oxygen consumption of the Chinese black sleeper embryos was similar to that of the mudskipper ones. The lowest rates of oxygen consumption [ （ 1.65 ±0. 66） nmol/ （ind. ·h） ] of the Chinese black sleeper embryos 16 h after fertilization and the lowest rates of oxygen consumption [ （0.79± 0.08 ）nmolf（ ind. · h） ] of the mudskipper embryos 6 h after fertilization were recorded, respectively. Then the rates of oxygen consumption of these two species embryos increased gradually until hatching [ （8.26 ± 1.70 ） nmolf（ ind.· h） in the Chinese black sleeper, （2.69 ± 0.23 ）nmolf（ ind. · h） in mudskipper]. After exposure to hypoxia water （0.16 mg/dm^3）, bradycardia of the embryos occurred in both the Chinese black sleeper and the mudskipper. However, the Chinese black sleeper embryos survived approximately 45 min longer than the mudskipper ones. After exposure to desiccation at a relative humidity of 58%, bradycardia of the embryos was observed in both the Chinese black sleeper and the mudskipper, and the Chinese black sleeper embryos lived approximately 9 min longer than the mudskipper ones.展开更多
The deterioration of the sleeper support on the ballasted track begins with the accumulation of sleeper voids.The increased dynamic loading in the voided zone and the ballast contact conditions cause the accelerated g...The deterioration of the sleeper support on the ballasted track begins with the accumulation of sleeper voids.The increased dynamic loading in the voided zone and the ballast contact conditions cause the accelerated growth of the settlements in the voided zones,which results in the appearance of local instabilities like ballast breakdown,white spots,subgrade defects,etc.The recent detection and quantification of the sleeper voids with track-side and onboard monitoring can help to avoid or delay the development of local instabilities.The present paper is devoted to the study of the dynamic behavior of railway track with sleeper voids in the ballast breakdown zone.The result of the experimental track-side measurements of rail acceleration and deflection is presented.The analysis shows the existence of the dynamic impact during wheel entry in the voided zone.However,the measured dynamic impact is subjected to the bias of the track-side measurement method.Both the mechanism of the impact and the measurement aspects are explained by using the one-beam model on viscoelastic foundation.The void features in the dynamic behavior are analyzed for the purpose of track-side and onboard monitoring.A practical method of the void parameter quantification is proposed.展开更多
In vitro production of functional gametes can revolutionize reproduction by reducing generation intervals and accelerating genetic breeding in aquaculture,especially in fish with relatively long generations.Neverthele...In vitro production of functional gametes can revolutionize reproduction by reducing generation intervals and accelerating genetic breeding in aquaculture,especially in fish with relatively long generations.Nevertheless,functional sperm production from in vitro-cultured spermatogonia remains a challenge in most aquaculture fish.In this study,we isolated and characterized premeiotic spermatogonia from marine four-eyed sleepers(Bostrychus sinensis),which are prone to ovotesticular or sterile testicular development,and induced the differentiation of the spermatogonia into flagellated sperm in a three-dimensional(3D)culture system.Artificial insemination indicated that the in vitro-derived sperm were capable of fertilizing mature oocytes to develop into normal larvae.Furthermore,melatonin significantly promoted spermatogonia proliferation and differentiation through the ERK1/2 signaling pathway,and thus increased the efficiency in functional sperm production.The 3D culture system and resulting functional sperm hold great promise for improving the genetic breeding of aquaculture fish.展开更多
This paper presents investigation results on the natural ultra-fine mineral flour of crystalline silica fume (CSF) and porous quartz sand stone (PQSS) which can modify cement mortar strength under hydrothermal synthe...This paper presents investigation results on the natural ultra-fine mineral flour of crystalline silica fume (CSF) and porous quartz sand stone (PQSS) which can modify cement mortar strength under hydrothermal synthesis reaction (HSR) in the autoclave-cured condition. The replacement of cement by CSF and PQSS can signifi cantly increase the Jflerural and compressive strength which reach 22MPa and 150MPa respectively and de-crease the porosity oj the cement mortar. The ratio oj fine aggregation, standard sand to cementions material has sig nificant influence on the mortar strength. The mechanisms involved in cement and natural mineral flour and the HSR are presented. CaO/SiO2 ratio ranges from 3. 20 to 1. 11. the main hydrate phase is C2SH and there is not Tober-morite through X-Ray diffraction qualitative analysis. The new and ultra-high strength cementious material as basic material of sleeper concrete can he used in prestressed reinforcement sleeper concrete.展开更多
A vehicle-track-bridge coupling dynamics model was built based on the theory of vehicle-track coupling dynamics. Using this model, a comparison was made between the dynamic response of an elastic sleeper ballasted tra...A vehicle-track-bridge coupling dynamics model was built based on the theory of vehicle-track coupling dynamics. Using this model, a comparison was made between the dynamic response of an elastic sleeper ballasted track and a common sleeper ballasted track on bridge under the same working conditions. The results show that laying elastic sleepers on the bridge could solve the problem of large track stiffness caused by a thin ballast thickness, and improve the dynamic response of the bridge. This is beneficial to train operation safety and riding comfort.展开更多
Sleep constitutes a third of human life and it is increasingly recognized as important for health.Over the past several decades,numerous genes have been identified to be involved in sleep regulation in animal models,b...Sleep constitutes a third of human life and it is increasingly recognized as important for health.Over the past several decades,numerous genes have been identified to be involved in sleep regulation in animal models,but most of these genes when disturbed impair not only sleep but also health and physiological functions.Human natural short sleepers are individuals with lifelong short sleep and no obvious adverse outcomes associated with the lack of sleep.These traits appear to be heritable,and thus characterization of the genetic basis of natural short sleep provides an opportunity to study not only the genetic mechanism of human sleep but also the relationship between sleep and physiological function.This review focuses on the current understanding of mutations associated with the natural short sleep trait and the mechanisms by which they contribute to this trait.展开更多
文摘The cross-level and twist irregularities are the most dangerous irregularity types that could cause wheel unloading with the risk of derailments and additional maintenance expenses.However,the mechanism of the irregularities initiation and development is unclear.The motivation of the present study was the previous experimental studies on the application of wide sleepers in the ballasted track.The long-term track geometry measurements with wide sleepers show an enormous reduction of the vertical longitudinal irregularities compared to the conventional track.However,wide sleepers had higher twist and cross-section level irregularities.The present paper aims to explain the phenomenon by discrete element method(DEM)modeling the development process of sleeper inhomogeneous support at cross-level depending on the sleeper form.The DEM simulations show that the maximal settlement intensity is up to 3.5 times lower for a wide sleeper in comparison with the conventional one.Nevertheless,the cross-level differential settlements are almost the same for both sleepers.The particle loading distribution after all loading cycles is concentrated on the smaller area,up to the half sleeper length,with fully unloaded zones under sleeper ends.Ballast flow limitation under the central part of the sleeper could improve the resilience of wide sleepers to the development of cross-level irregularities.The mechanism of initiation of the cross-level irregularity is proposed,which assumes the loss of sleeper support under sleeper ends.The further growth of inhomogeneous settlements along the sleeper is assumed as a result of the interaction of two processes:ballast flow due to dynamic impact during void closing and on the other side high pressure due to the concentration of the pressure under the middle part of the sleeper.The DEM simulation results support the assumption of the mechanism and agree with the experimental studies.
基金The present work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52008395).
文摘The unsupported sleeper can change the load characteristics of ballast particles and thus affect the dynamic stability of a ballasted bed.In this work,a laboratory test was constructed on a ballasted track containing unsupported sleepers.The ballasted track was excited by a wheelset,and the influence of unsupported sleepers on the dynamic stability of a ballasted bed was studied.The results show that the main frequency of the sleeper vibration appeared at 670 Hz,and the first-order rigid vibration mode at the frequency of 101 Hz had a significant effect on the condition without the unsupported sleeper.When the sleepers were continuously unsupported,the vibration damping effect of ballasted bed within the frequency range of 0–450 Hz was better than that at higher frequencies.Within the frequency range of 70–250 Hz,the vibration damping effect of the ballasted bed with unsupported sleepers was better than that without the unsupported sleeper.Owing to the excitation from the wheelset impact,the lateral resistance of the ballasted bed with unsupported sleepers whose hanging heights were 30,60,and 90 mm increased by 37.43%,12.25%,and 18.23%,respectively,while the lateral resistance of the ballasted bed without the unsupported sleeper remained basically unchanged.The unsupported sleeper could increase the difference in the quality of the ballasted bed between two adjacent sleepers.In addition,test results show that the hanging height of the unsupported sleeper had little effect on the lateral resistance of a ballasted bed without external excitation,but had an obvious effect on the rate of change of the lateral resistance of a ballasted bed and the acceleration amplitude of the sleeper vibration under the wheelset impact.
文摘This paper describes the economic and technological benefits of installing continuous welded rail （CWR） track on sharp （radius≤300 m） railway curves. A new form of prestressed concrete sleepers developed by the V. Lazaryan Dniprope- trovsk National University of Railway Transport is shown to improve the lateral shift resistance of CWR track in sharp curves and the use of anchor sleepers on tangents is shown to make it possible to lower the fastening temperature of the CWR track in order to increase the rail lifespan.
文摘It is presented a State of the Art of international standards in the field of monoblock concrete sleepers design and calculation.Taking into account the fact that the Argentinian broad track gauge(1,676 mm)is different to international track gauge(1,435 mm)that is worldwide used,a comparative analysis is developed in order to evaluate the performance of internationals standards in the design of the sleepers used in Argentinian railways.Recommendations for future research are provided.
文摘In this study,ultrahigh-performance fiber-reinforced concrete(UHPFRC)used in a type B70 concrete sleeper is investigated experimentally and parametrically.The main parameters investigated are the steel fiber volume fractions(0%,0.5%,1%,and 1.5%).Under European standards,35 UHPFRC sleepers are subjected to static bending tests at the center and rail seat sections,and the screw on the fastening system is pulled out.The first cracking load,failure load,failure mode,crack propagation,load–deflection curve,load–crack width,and failure load from these tests are measured and compared with those of a control sleeper manufactured using normal concrete C50.The accuracy of the parametric study is verified experimentally.Subsequently,the results of the study are applied to UHPFRC sleepers with different concrete volumes to investigate the effects of the properties of UHPFRC on their performance.Experimental and parametric study results show that the behavior of UHPFRC sleepers improves significantly when the amount of steel fiber in the mix is increased.Sleepers manufactured using UHPFRC with a steel fiber volume fraction of 1%and a concrete volume less than 25%that of standard sleeper B70 can be used under the same loads and requirements,which contributes positively to the cost and surrounding environment.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants Nos.52165013 and 51565021.
文摘The meso-dynamical behaviour of a high-speed rail ballast bed with under sleeper pads(USPs)was studied.The geometrically irregular refined discrete element model of the ballast particles was constructed using 3D scanning techniques,and the 3D dynamic model of the rail-sleeper-ballast bed was constructed using the coupled discrete element method-multiflexible-body dynamics(DEM-MFBD)approach.We analyse the meso-mechanical dynamics of the ballast bed with USPs under dynamic load on a train and verify the correctness of the model in laboratory tests.It is shown that the deformation of the USPs increases the contact area between the sleeper and the ballast particles,and subsequently the number of contacts between them.As the depth of the granular ballast bed increases,the contact area becomes larger,and the contact force between the ballast particles gradually decreases.Under the action of the elastic USPs,the contact forces between ballast particles are reduced and the overall vibration level of the ballast bed can be reduced.The settlement of the granular ballast bed occurs mainly at the shallow position of the sleeper bottom,and the installation of the elastic USPs can be effective in reducing the stress on the ballast particles and the settlement of the ballast bed.
基金financially supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Grant No.51825904)。
文摘Because non-buried submarine pipelines under cyclic thermal loading are prone to global buckling,sleepers are commonly laid along the pipeline route to induce a series of relatively small and controllable lateral buckling.A finite element model which can simulate the transformation of pipeline laid on a sleeper from vertical buckling to lateral buckling is established in this work.The parameters of sleeper affecting pipeline buckling modes are analysed,and a new kind of sleeper is proposed aimed at avoiding antisymmetric buckling.Results show that the lateral trigger force can avoid antisymmetric lateral buckling when acting between 1℃and 13℃before the critical buckling temperature.The range increases slightly with increasing trigger force.Compared with an ordinary sleeper,the proposed new sleeper with slider can reduce the critical buckling temperature by 25%,which significantly improves the success rate of sleepers.
文摘Purpose: This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of actigraphy to monitor sleep quality and quantity in healthy self-rated good sleeper adults at home-based settings. Method: Sixteen healthy volunteers (age > 18) were invited to participate. Each participant was provided with a wrist actigraph device to be worn for 24-hour/day for seven consecutive days to monitor their sleep-wake patterns. Actigraphy data were downloaded using-proprietary software to generate an individual-sleep report. Participants also completed a set of self-reported Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) using WHO (five) Well Being Index (WBI) questionnaires. Results: Actigraphy was well accepted by all participants. Only 43.8% of the participants achieved normal total sleep time (TST) and 62.5% had a mean sleep efficiency value below the normal range. Despite a reduced quality of sleep among the participants, the self-reported HRQOL scores produced by the WHO-5 WBI showed a “fair” to “good” among the participants. Conclusions: To maintain healthy well-being, it is vital to have efficient and quality sleep. Insufficient and poor sleep may contribute to various health problems and hazardous outcomes. People often believe they have normal and efficient sleep, not realising they may be developing poor sleep habits. This study found that actigraphy can be easily utilized to monitor sleep-wake patterns at home-based settings. We proposed that actigraphy could be adapted for use in the primary care settings (e.g. community pharmacy) to improve the sleep health management in the community.
文摘In an attempt to study the relationship between sleep postures and sleep parameters assessed by actigraphy, we applied the newly developed Activity Monitoring and Evaluation System (A-MES) and actigraphy at the same time to younger and senior Japanese volunteer groups. It was found that sleep postures and diurnal activity determines, to some extent, sleep parameters including activity mean score (AMS), activity index (ACTX), waking episodes (WEP) and sleep fragmentation index (SFX). It was also found that sleep properties are different in younger and senior Japanese. For example, increase in the proportion of time in the supine position resulted in enhancement and deterioration of the sleep in the younger and senior groups, respectively. Furthermore, there were correlations between supine posture and AMS, ACTX, SFX, total minutes scored as awake (TMSA) and WEP obtained by actigraphy in the younger group, but only AMS and ACTX in senior group. In addition, we also assessed sleep parameters by use of questionnaires, and found that objective sleep quality was rather poor but subjective sleep quality was better in the senior group. In the younger group, in contrast, objective sleep quality was better but subjective sleep quality was poor. On the other hand, there was no correlation between sleep parameters assessed by actigraphy and self-report at all. The present study with A-MES and actigraphy provides the first evidence that sleep posture affects sleep quality and is a convenient, inexpensive and home-based method for studying sleep.
基金This project is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.599355100) Foundation of PhD Student Education Ministry of China (No.20020613001) Foundation for the Author of National Excellant Doctoral Dissertation of China (FANEDD) (No.200048, No.200248).
文摘The effect of discrete support of rail on the formation and evolution of railcorrugation is primarily investigated with numerical method in the situation of wheelset curvingsteadily and repeatedly. In the numerical analysis of corrugation it is considered that acombination of Kalker's rolling contact theory with non-Hertzian to be modified, a linear frictionalwork model and a vertical dynamics model of railway vehicle coupled with a curved track. And theuneven support stiffness of rail in the vertical direction due to discrete sleeper support and thedifferent running speed of the wheelset are taken into consideration. The damage on the runningsurface of rail, concerning rail corrugation formation, is restricted to wear mechanism of railmaterial. The numerical results obtained indicate that the discrete supports of rail by sleepershave a great influence on the formation of the corrugation under the condition of non-zero andstable creepages of wheelset and track.
基金Project(U1234211)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2013G009-B)supported by China Railway Corporation
文摘With the development of high-speed and heavy-haul railway in China, problems like insufficient thickness of ballast bed and overlarge track stiffness are obvious. Ballast may break into small particles and their contact status will deteriorate under cyclic loading, resulting in ballast degradation. Discrete element method(DEM) was used to research improved performance of ballast bed using elastic sleeper. Clusters were generated by bonding spheres to model real ballasts, while broken bonds were utilized to distinguish breakage. Two kinds of ballast beds with elastic sleeper and conventional sleeper were established, respectively. After applying cyclic loading to the models, differences of mechanical properties between two models were analyzed by contrasting their dynamic behavior indexes, such as particle contact force, sleeper settlement, vibration velocity and acceleration, breakage characteristic. The results illustrate that compared with conventional sleeper, elastic sleeper increases sleeper settlement, while reduces ballast vibration and contact force between particles, which could depress ballast breakage.
基金Projects(U1234211,61472029,51208034)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘The lateral resistance of sleeper plays an important role in ensuring the stability of a railway track, which may change in the operation of railway, due to the fouling in the ballast bed. In this work, discrete element method was adopted to investigate the effect of fouling on the lateral resistance of sleeper. The shape information of ballast was captured by method of three-dimensional vision reconstruction. In order to calibrate the mechanical parameters and verify the models, a lateral resistance field test was carried out by using a custom-made device. The contact force distributions in the different parts of sleeper as well as the interaction between ballast and sleeper were discussed in depth. The results show that fouling of ballast bed evidently reduces the lateral resistance of sleeper and the decreasing degree is also related to the fouled position of ballast bed, in the order of shoulder > bottom > side.Therefore, the effect of fouling, especially the fouling in the ballast shoulder, on the lateral resistance of sleeper, should be taken into account in ballast track maintenance work.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No.40476056the Science and Technology Key Project of Fujian Province of China under contract Nos 2003N026 and 2004SZ01-02.
文摘The rates of oxygen consumption, tolerance of hypoxia and desiccation of the Chinese black sleeper （ Bostrichthys sinensis） and mudskipper （Boleophthalmus pectinirostris） embryos were investigated. The pattern of oxygen consumption of the Chinese black sleeper embryos was similar to that of the mudskipper ones. The lowest rates of oxygen consumption [ （ 1.65 ±0. 66） nmol/ （ind. ·h） ] of the Chinese black sleeper embryos 16 h after fertilization and the lowest rates of oxygen consumption [ （0.79± 0.08 ）nmolf（ ind. · h） ] of the mudskipper embryos 6 h after fertilization were recorded, respectively. Then the rates of oxygen consumption of these two species embryos increased gradually until hatching [ （8.26 ± 1.70 ） nmolf（ ind.· h） in the Chinese black sleeper, （2.69 ± 0.23 ）nmolf（ ind. · h） in mudskipper]. After exposure to hypoxia water （0.16 mg/dm^3）, bradycardia of the embryos occurred in both the Chinese black sleeper and the mudskipper. However, the Chinese black sleeper embryos survived approximately 45 min longer than the mudskipper ones. After exposure to desiccation at a relative humidity of 58%, bradycardia of the embryos was observed in both the Chinese black sleeper and the mudskipper, and the Chinese black sleeper embryos lived approximately 9 min longer than the mudskipper ones.
基金The authors acknowledge the support of Swiss Federal Railways with the experimental measurements.
文摘The deterioration of the sleeper support on the ballasted track begins with the accumulation of sleeper voids.The increased dynamic loading in the voided zone and the ballast contact conditions cause the accelerated growth of the settlements in the voided zones,which results in the appearance of local instabilities like ballast breakdown,white spots,subgrade defects,etc.The recent detection and quantification of the sleeper voids with track-side and onboard monitoring can help to avoid or delay the development of local instabilities.The present paper is devoted to the study of the dynamic behavior of railway track with sleeper voids in the ballast breakdown zone.The result of the experimental track-side measurements of rail acceleration and deflection is presented.The analysis shows the existence of the dynamic impact during wheel entry in the voided zone.However,the measured dynamic impact is subjected to the bias of the track-side measurement method.Both the mechanism of the impact and the measurement aspects are explained by using the one-beam model on viscoelastic foundation.The void features in the dynamic behavior are analyzed for the purpose of track-side and onboard monitoring.A practical method of the void parameter quantification is proposed.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2018YFD0901205)National Natural Science Foundation of China(31771587,31970535)Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2020A1515010358)。
文摘In vitro production of functional gametes can revolutionize reproduction by reducing generation intervals and accelerating genetic breeding in aquaculture,especially in fish with relatively long generations.Nevertheless,functional sperm production from in vitro-cultured spermatogonia remains a challenge in most aquaculture fish.In this study,we isolated and characterized premeiotic spermatogonia from marine four-eyed sleepers(Bostrychus sinensis),which are prone to ovotesticular or sterile testicular development,and induced the differentiation of the spermatogonia into flagellated sperm in a three-dimensional(3D)culture system.Artificial insemination indicated that the in vitro-derived sperm were capable of fertilizing mature oocytes to develop into normal larvae.Furthermore,melatonin significantly promoted spermatogonia proliferation and differentiation through the ERK1/2 signaling pathway,and thus increased the efficiency in functional sperm production.The 3D culture system and resulting functional sperm hold great promise for improving the genetic breeding of aquaculture fish.
基金Financially Supported by the Foundation of Science of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
文摘This paper presents investigation results on the natural ultra-fine mineral flour of crystalline silica fume (CSF) and porous quartz sand stone (PQSS) which can modify cement mortar strength under hydrothermal synthesis reaction (HSR) in the autoclave-cured condition. The replacement of cement by CSF and PQSS can signifi cantly increase the Jflerural and compressive strength which reach 22MPa and 150MPa respectively and de-crease the porosity oj the cement mortar. The ratio oj fine aggregation, standard sand to cementions material has sig nificant influence on the mortar strength. The mechanisms involved in cement and natural mineral flour and the HSR are presented. CaO/SiO2 ratio ranges from 3. 20 to 1. 11. the main hydrate phase is C2SH and there is not Tober-morite through X-Ray diffraction qualitative analysis. The new and ultra-high strength cementious material as basic material of sleeper concrete can he used in prestressed reinforcement sleeper concrete.
文摘A vehicle-track-bridge coupling dynamics model was built based on the theory of vehicle-track coupling dynamics. Using this model, a comparison was made between the dynamic response of an elastic sleeper ballasted track and a common sleeper ballasted track on bridge under the same working conditions. The results show that laying elastic sleepers on the bridge could solve the problem of large track stiffness caused by a thin ballast thickness, and improve the dynamic response of the bridge. This is beneficial to train operation safety and riding comfort.
基金supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(Grant No.2021ZD0203202)the Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.31930021 and 32022035)。
文摘Sleep constitutes a third of human life and it is increasingly recognized as important for health.Over the past several decades,numerous genes have been identified to be involved in sleep regulation in animal models,but most of these genes when disturbed impair not only sleep but also health and physiological functions.Human natural short sleepers are individuals with lifelong short sleep and no obvious adverse outcomes associated with the lack of sleep.These traits appear to be heritable,and thus characterization of the genetic basis of natural short sleep provides an opportunity to study not only the genetic mechanism of human sleep but also the relationship between sleep and physiological function.This review focuses on the current understanding of mutations associated with the natural short sleep trait and the mechanisms by which they contribute to this trait.
