Experimental observations have shown that during Czochralski β-Ga2O3 crystal growth, the shape of the crystal-melt (CM) interface shifts from convex curvature to concave towards the melt, and this transformation is associated with the emergence of spiral structures. This study employs numerical methods to explore the effects of RF-coil position, crystal rotation and absorption coefficient on the CM interface during β-Ga2O3 crystal growth. The RF-coil position determines the heat distribution within the crucible, thereby controlling the temperature field and melt flow pattern, and shaping the CM interface. In the early stages of growth, placing the RF-coil center near the melt-depth center creates a convex CM interface towards the melt; lowering it makes the interface concave. Crystals with lower absorption coefficients exhibit more pronounced convexity due to enhanced thermal radiation from the crystal interior to the surface. Higher rotation rates lead to the formation of vortices below the CM interface, which transfer heat upward from the crucible bottom to the interface, reducing the convexity. Adjusting the position of the RF-coil or the rotation rate accelerates the convex to concave transition in high-absorption-coefficient crystals. As the crystal grows in length, the size and intensity of the rotation-induced vortex increase, eventually causing the interface to become concave. The convex-to-concave CM interface transition occurs more quickly in high-absorption-coefficient crystals. The present findings are consistent with the growth conditions under which the spiral structures appear in the experiments. These results can provide practical guidance for the positioning and rotation rate selection of RF coils during β-Ga2O3 crystal growth, in order to delay the emergence of spiral structures.
Probiotic Bacillus species are being investigated as sustainable interventions to enhance health and disease resilience in aquaculture. However, the functional basis, biosafety profile, and genomic determinants of probiotic suitability in shrimp gut-associated Bacillus strains remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, a Bacillus strain (KNSH39) isolated from the intestine of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) was evaluated using integrated phenotypic, functional, and genome-resolved approaches. Classical assays assessed morphology, sporulation, antibiotic susceptibility, gastrointestinal tolerance, storage stability, and antibacterial activity of cell-free supernatant under thermal and pH stress. Hybrid whole-genome sequencing using Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Illumina platforms enabled high-quality assembly, followed by comprehensive functional annotation, mobilome analysis, biosynthetic gene cluster prediction, and comparative genomics. KNSH39 exhibited strong sporulation capacity (98.04
The primary challenge in bioremediating weathered diesel oil (WDO) lies in the initial biological lag phase and the low bioavailability of hydrocarbons. While exogenous surfactants are conventionally applied to rapidly solubilize WDO into the aqueous phase, this approach is fundamentally limited by severe surfactant-induced microbial toxicity. This study engineered a novel biostimulation formulation that seamlessly integrates initial exogenous solubilization with subsequent endogenous biosurfactant production. A mixed-micellar system was developed to provide immediate chemical solubilization while effectively buffering the inherent toxicity of exogenous surfactants. The formulation strategically incorporates Mg(II) to specifically stimulate indigenous microbes to secrete endogenous biosurfactants following the lag phase. This dual-action design aims to overcome toxicity barriers, accelerate microbial proliferation, and achieve efficient WDO degradation. A novel micellar shielding system was engineered by specifically combining sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Tween 80 to physically sequester anionic toxicity while maintaining robust solubilization capacity. Batch solubilization and biocompatibility experiments were conducted to evaluate this structural advantage on microbial viability and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal. Mg(II) and cost-effective carbon sources were integrated to specifically trigger in situ endogenous biosurfactant production. A Taguchi experimental design was employed to optimize these formulation parameters. Remediation mechanisms were investigated by correlating TPH removal dynamics with functional gene (alkB) expression and shifts in microbial population structure. The optimized synergistic formulation was validated in a mesocosm-scale biopile system. Biocompatibility tests showed that SDS alone exhibited significant microbial toxicity, whereas the addition of Tween 80 mitigated inhibition through mixed-micelle formation and provided a co-substrate effect. The optimal surfactant-nutrient synergy using Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tar3 as a model organism for was developed for mechanistic optimization. Batch experiments demonstrated that 1–2
In this paper, we consider the global dynamics of a HBV infection model with degenerate diffusion, DNA-containing capsids and time-delays in heterogeneous environment. Since only the free virus equation contains a diffusion term, the model is partially degenerate, which makes that the solution semiflow lacks compactness. In addition, different to early works, the consideration of time-delay effect increases the difficulty in studying the dynamics of the model. To overcome these difficulties, we regard the model as a one-periodic system. Then, apply the method of Kuratowski’s measure of non-compactness, we establish the global threshold dynamics of the system, which can be characterized by the value of basic reproduction number ℛ_0 . In addition, we establish the global asymptotic stability of infection-free steady state when ℛ_0=1 , and find that ℛ_0 is decreasing with respect to the three time delay terms. We further provide some examples to support our theoretical results.
To estimate the risk projection of temperature on pediatric asthma severity and hospitalization under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) possible future climate scenarios using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) model. A retrospective study was conducted involving 102,160 pediatric asthma patients from the Taipei Medical University Clinical Research Database (TMUCRD). We utilized global climate model (GCM) outputs to project future temperature for each subject from optimistic (SSP126) to pessimistic (SSP585) projections. A multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the odds ratio of pediatric asthma severity and hospitalization. A 1 °C increase in 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year average temperatures was associated with 1.004-fold (95
