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Ferroptosis is a type of regulatory cell death, caused by excessive lipid peroxidation This study aimed to explore whether ionizing radiation could induce ferroptosis in glioma cells and whether carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9) knockdown could enhance the killing effect of ionizing radiation on hypoxic glioma cells through ferroptosis. The protein levels of Acyl-CoA Synthetase Long Chain Family Member 4 (ACSL4) were detected by Western blot in glioma cells irradiated by different doses of X-ray. The relative mRNA levels of ferroptosis markers and intracellular iron-associated proteins were detected by Real-time qPCR. Lipid peroxidation of glioma cells was detected by oxidation-sensitive probe C11-BODIPY581/591 staining. CCK-8 Assay was used to detect cell viability after X-ray irradiation. Cloning formation assay was used to assess the radiosensitivity of glioma cells. The exposure of cell surface calreticulin was measured by immunofluorescence staining. X-ray induced lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis markers expression in U251 and GL261 glioma cells. Knockdown of CA9 in hypoxic glioma cells significantly altered the expression of iron regulation-related proteins and enhanced X-ray-induced ferroptosis and radiosensitivity. The ferroptosis inhibitor significantly improved the survival of cells irradiated by X-ray, while ferroptosis inducers (FINs) enhanced the lethal effect of X-ray on cells. Enhancing ferroptosis in glioma cells promoted the exposure and release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Ionizing radiation can induce ferroptosis in glioma cells. CA9 knockdown can enhance the radiosensitivity of hypoxic glioma cells and overcome the resistance of ferroptosis under hypoxia. Enhancing ferroptosis will become a new idea to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy for glioma.

Objective. This study used in vitro techniques to investigate the therapeutic effect of Radix Salviae on human glioblastoma and decode its underlying molecular mechanism. Methods. The active components and targets of the Radix Salviae were identified from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database (TCMSP). The targets of human glioblastoma were obtained from the GeneCards Database. The Radix Salviae-mediated antiglioblastoma was evaluated by Gene Ontology (GO) analyses and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses. Finally, mechanism of action of Radix Salviae against human glioblastoma was deduced by molecular docking and experiments. Results. We screened 66 active ingredients and 45 targets of the Radix Salviae. The enrichment analysis based on the targets mentioned above suggested a possible role in protein phosphorylation, cell transcription, apoptosis, and inflammatory factor signaling pathways. Further study demonstrated that cryptotanshinone, an essential component of Radix Salviae, played a significant role in killing human glioblastoma cells and protecting the body by inhibiting the AKT, IKB, and STAT3 signaling pathways. Conclusions. Radix Salviae could inhibit the proliferation and invasion of human glioblastoma by regulating STAT3, Akt, and IKB signaling pathways. Radix Salviae has potential therapeutic value in the future for human glioblastoma.

Multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles (MTAHVs) are widely used in North America and some European countries. However, due to multi-unit structures, larger sizes, and higher center of gravity compared with cars, MTAHVs exhibit poorer low-speed maneuverability and worse high-speed directional stability especially in low-friction road surface condition or emergency driving scenarios like obstacle avoidance. Passive safety systems, e.g., command steering utilized in trailers, may improve the maneuverability at low speeds; however, at high speeds they even exacerbate the lateral stability. Active safety systems categorized as reactive safety systems (RSSs) are not effective for preventing road accidents from happening, because they may only consider the current vehicle states, and not take future states into account. These RSSs, thus, may neither remove nor correct human driver errors during vehicle operations., 2022 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering International Congress, June 5-8, 2022, Edmonton, Alberta

Additional file 1. Figure S1. Cur@Hb nanoparticles had good dispersion and dispersibility in aqueous solution, PBS, PBS containing 10% FBS and DMEM containing 10% FBS. Figure S2. The standard curve and release kinetics of Cur. Figure S3. Quantitatively analyzed the photo-acoustic images of Cur@Hb nanoparticles in vivo. Figure S4. A: The uptake of Cur@Hb nanoparticles by SMMC7721 cells; B and C: Fluorescence peaks measured by flow cytometry in normoxic and hypoxic environments. Figure S5. A: The cell cycle detected by flow cytometry after normoxic culture for 24 h; B: The cell cycle detected by flow cytometry after hypoxic culture for 24 h. Figure S6. The apoptosis rate of the Cur@Hb group was significantly higher than that of the Cur group and the Hb group under both culture conditions, with or without X-ray irradiation. Figure S7. A and B: Cur@Hb could significantly inhibit the migration of tumor cells at 24 h and 48 h under normoxia or hypoxia culture; C and D: Cur@Hb inhibited the formation of lumen-like structures under normoxia or hypoxia culture. Figure S8. Cur@Hb nanoparticles not only increased the peak value of ��H2AX foci produced by X-ray, but also extended the duration of damage. Figure S9. A: Under normoxic culture, Cur@Hb nanoparticles increased the production of ROS in SMMC7721 cells; B: Under normoxic culture, Cur@Hb nanoparticles promoted the polarization of M2 macrophages to M1. Data are representative of three independent experiments and expressed as mean �� SD, one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-test, *p

With the current situation of exponential growth in freightage and traffic congestion, Multi-Trailer Articulated Heavy Vehicles (MTAHVs) have become an economical and pragmatic solution to transportation. However, problems like high-speed lateral stability and low-speed maneuverability are still challenges with which MTAHVs are still facing due to high centers of gravity, multi-unit structures and large sizes. Jackknifing, rollover, and fish-tailing are three typical unstable motions that cause severe road accidents at high speeds. Steerable axles including passive and active steering systems have been recognized as a promising method to improve the dynamic performance of MTAHVs. Dynamic performance tests were conducted to compare the MTAHVs equipped with active and passive trailers steering systems against a baseline MTAHV without any steerable trailer axles installed. To examine and evaluate the capabilities of each steering system, an A-train double MTAHV with high degrees of fidelity was developed in TruckSim. Advanced driver models and passive and active steering systems were designed and implemented using MATLAB/Simulink. The baseline set was implemented with trailer and dolly axles fixed and without any steering input. Two road conditions were considered based on different tire-road friction coefficients to simulate dry and wet road surface conditions. Two typical vehicle dynamics performance test scenarios, High Speed Lane Change (HSLC) and Low Speed Turn (LST), were conducted. The simulation results showed that on good road condition, both passively and actively steered trailer axles considerably improved low speed maneuverability in comparison to fixed-axle baseline trailer axles. It was observed that the passive steering mechanism reduced the MTAHVs' high speed lateral stability while the active steering mechanism was able to significantly improve driving performance at both high and low speeds at both high and low friction road conditions., 8th International Conference on Vibration Engineering, ICVE 2021, July 24-26, 2021, Shanghai, China

This paper presents an energy-regenerative suspension device that is able to harvest some of the wasted energy that is generated in a suspension system. For a traditional road vehicle suspension system, shock absorbers are mainly dissipating energy to reduce vibration. The dissipated energy may be collected to improve the fuel economy of road vehicles. In this research, CarSim and Simulink are used to simulate and determine the harvestable energy in a conventional shock absorber under different operating conditions. A conceptual energy-regenerative absorber is designed and tested using a fabricated prototype. A variable speed motor is implemented to adapt the change of stroke length of a mechanism due to the various road roughness. Instruments, e.g., laser tachometer, pressure gauge, ammeter, voltmeter, and stopwatch, are used to collect data. The simulation and prototype testing results indicate that the proposed energy-regenerative suspension device could harvest dissipated energy to improve vehicle fuel economy.

Cronobacter sp., an opportunistic foodborne pathogen, can cause high mortality in neonatal and premature infants because this pathogen is associated with powdered infant formula (PIF) contamination. Biofilm formation is recognized as the most effective means to help Cronobacter survive throughout the long shelf-life of PIF, thus promoting resistance to cleaning agents and disinfectants. Crystal violet (CV) staining and fluorescence microscopy analyses were used to compare the biofilm formation ability among different Cronobacter strains, and then the weak biofilm former Cronobacter sakazakii ATCC 29544 and the strong biofilm former Cronobacter dubliniensis DSM 18707 were selected for further proteomic analysis. Two-dimensional liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, which was coupled with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) labeling, was employed to quantitatively identify the proteins that were differentially expressed in C. sakazakii ATCC 29544 compared to C. dubliniensis DSM 18707. In total, 1190 proteins were detected. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis indicated that these differentially expressed proteins are related to biological binding, cell structure, signal transduction, cell adhesion, and cellular interaction. Among these differential proteins, the expression levels of 177 non-redundant proteins were altered significantly by more than 5-fold, with 96 up-regulated proteins and 81 down-regulated. This study provides important information regarding the cellular requirements for the underlying mechanism of Cronobacter biofilm formation and its survival in harsh environments.

In a steering process, the steering-motor of a steer-by-wire (SBW) vehicle consumes energy. To facilitate energy efficiency analyses, the steeringmotor energy consumption is split into two parts, which correspond to varied and constant steering-wheel angle operating condition, respectively. The former condition is a vehicle operational manoeuvre, in which steering-wheel angle varies continuously, whereas the latter is a constant-radius circular-curve negotiation, in which steering-wheel angle maintains constant. Analysing the relation of steering-wheel angle with a road curvature, we propose an energysaving strategy for steering-motors of SBW vehicles. The energy-saving strategy is featured with a concept, a hydro-mechanical locking device, and an SBW controller for the steering-motor unit. The feasibility and effectiveness of the energy-saving strategy is demonstrated using closed-loop simulations. To implement the closed-loop simulation, we combine the driver, vehicle, and curved road models generated in CarSim software with the steering-motor model and the SBW controller developed in Matlab/Simulink.

The Oligocene Yacheng Fm contains the most important source rocks that have been confirmed by exploratory wells in the Qiongdongnan Basin. The efficiency of these source rocks is the key to the breakthrough in natural gas exploration in the study area. This paper analyzes the hydrocarbon potential of each sag in this basin from the perspective of control of both source rocks and geothermal heat. Two types of source rocks occur in the Yacheng Fm, namely mudstone of transitional facies and mudstone of neritic facies. Both of them are dominated by a kerogen of type-III, followed by type-II. Their organic matter abundances are controlled by the amount of continental clastic input. The mudstone of transitional facies is commonly higher in organic matter abundance, while that of neritic facies is lower. The coal-measure source rocks of transitional facies were mainly formed in such environments as delta plains, coastal plains and barrier tidal flat-marshes. Due to the control of Cenozoic lithosphere extension and influence of neotectonism, the geothermal gradient, terrestrial heat flow value (HFV) and level of thermal evolution are generally high in deep water. The hot setting not only determines the predominance of gas generation in the deep-water sags, but can promote the shallow-buried source rocks in shallow water into oil window to generate oil. In addition to promoting the hydrocarbon generation of source rocks, the high geothermal and high heat flow value can also speed up the cracking of residual hydrocarbons, thus enhancing hydrocarbon generation efficiency and capacity. According to the theory of joint control of source quality and geothermal heat on hydrocarbon generation, we comprehensively evaluate and rank the exploration potentials of major sags in the Qiongdongnan Basin. These sags are divided into 3 types, of which type-I sags including Yanan, Lingshui, Baodao, Ledong and Huaguang are the highest in hydrocarbon exploration potential.

V-telluride superlattice thin films have shown promising performance for on-chip cooling devices. Recent experimental studies have indicated that device performance is limited by the metal/semiconductor electrical contacts. One challenge in realizing a low resistivity contacts is the absence of fundamental knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of interfaces between metal and V-telluride materials. Here we present a combination of experimental and theoretical efforts to understand, design and harness low resistivity contacts to V-tellurides. Ab initio calculations are used to explore the effects of interfacial structure and chemical compositions on the electrical contacts, and an ab initio based macroscopic model is employed to predict the fundamental limit of contact resistivity as a function of both carrier concentration and temperature. Under the guidance of theoretical studies, we develop an experimental approach to fabricate low resistivity metal contacts to V-telluride thin film superlattices, achieving a 100-fold reduction compared to previous work. Interfacial characterization and analysis using both scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy show the unusual interfacial morphology and the potential for further improvement in contact resistivity. Finally, we harness the improved contacts to realize an improved high-performance thermoelectric cooling module., Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures (includes SI) to appear in Advanced Electronic Materials