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For advanced technology nodes, the static random-access memories (SRAMs) are highly vulnerable to the single-event upsets (SEUs), especially the multiple cell upsets (MCUs), by a high energy ion strike, which is due to the small transistor size and close proximity of the sensitive regions. However, the narrow connection between the fin and the bulk region for FinFET inhibits the charge collection compared to the planar transistor structure. In this work, heavy ion tests were conducted for 16 nm bulk FinFET dual-port SRAM at two high linear energy transfers (LETs) of 60 MeV∙cm2/mg and 85 MeV∙cm2/mg. The non-saturating behavior of the SEU cross-sections and event cross-sections for a bit cell is observed even over the LET of 60 MeV∙cm2/mg due to the expanding of the sensitive area surrounding the array and the cutting-off area in the FinFET SRAM cells. The distribution curves of the MCU event probabilities for different MCU cluster sizes show the Single-bit upset (SBU) occupies the largest probability of all the single-event cluster sizes, which exhibits the inhibition capability of the Fin structure against the upsets induced by high energy particles. The parasitic bipolar effect is also serious for 16nm FinFET SRAM as former planar SRAM, but the charge sharing effect is effectively inhibited due to the narrow connection between the fin and the bulk region for FinFET. Results presented in this paper will help designers estimate the Error Correcting Code (ECC) and interleaving design parameters for radiation hardened SRAM designs at the 16 nm FinFET process.

Vascular stem cells exist in the three-layer structure of blood vessel walls and play an indispensable role in angiogenesis under physiological conditions and vascular remodeling under pathological conditions. Vascular stem cells are mostly quiescent, but can be activated in response to injury and participate in endothelial repair and neointima formation. Extensive studies have demonstrated the differentiation potential of stem/progenitor cells to repair endothelium and participate in neointima formation during vascular remodeling. The stem cell population has markers on the surface of the cells that can be used to identify this cell population. The main positive markers include Stem cell antigen-1 (Sca1), Sry-box transcription factor 10 (SOX10). Stromal cell antigen 1 (Stro-1) and Stem cell growth factor receptor kit (c-kit) are still controversial. Different parts of the vessel have different stem cell populations and multiple markers. In this review, we trace the role of vascular stem/progenitor cells in the progression of atherosclerosis and neointima formation, focusing on the expression of stem cell molecular markers that occur during neointima formation and vascular repair, as well as the molecular phenotypic changes that occur during differentiation of different stem cell types. To explore the correlation between stem cell molecular markers and atherosclerotic diseases and neointima formation, summarize the differential changes of molecular phenotype during the differentiation of stem cells into smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, and further analyze the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms of stem cells expressing different positive markers participating in intima formation and vascular repair. Summarizing the limitations of stem cells in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic diseases and the pressing issues that need to be addressed, we provide a feasible scheme for studying the signaling pathways of vascular stem cells involved in vascular diseases.

Additional file 9: Fig. S1. Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in sMPLC and SPLC. A The density plot showed relatively similar methylation levels in the samples from the sMPLC and SPLC. B Principal component analysis (PCA) based on all CpG sites did not reveal any discernable separation between the two groups. C and D The substantially methylated sites appear to be bimodal distribution and randomly distributed on 22 chromosomes in sMPLC and SPLC. E and F The distribution percentages of the DMP on different gene regions were slightly different between sMPLC and SPLC. G and H GO analyses revealed the DMP in sMPLC and SPLC involved in different biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. Fig. S2. DNA methylation discrepancies between sMPLC and SPLC. A GO Functional Analysis showed that these DMP are involved in different biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. B and C DNA methylation level around the transcription starting site (TSS). The methylation patterns around the TSS region were different between sMPLC and SPLC. MC, sMPLC tumors; MN, paired normal lung tissues from sMPLC; SC, SPLC tumors; SN, paired normal lung tissues from SPLC. Fig. S3. RNA-seq and immunofluorescence analyses in sMPLC and SPLC. A and B KEGG pathways analyses in SPLC and sMPLC based on DEG. C and D Significant GO terms analyses in SPLC and sMPLC. More immune-related biological processes and pathways, such as B cell activation, B cell receptor signaling pathway, and IL-17 signaling pathway, were identified in the sMPLC group. E Immunofluorescence analyses of CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD68 confirmed CIBERSORT analysis results. The infiltration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells had no differences between sMPLC and SPLC. The number of CD68+ lymphocytes was significantly higher in sMPLC (p < 0.01). sMPLC, sMPLC tumors; sMPLC-N, paired normal lung tissues from sMPLC; SPLC, SPLC tumors; SPLC-N, paired normal lung tissues from SPLC.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-ict-10.1177_15347354231164584 for Assessing the Relationship Between Liver Metastases and the Survival of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer After Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Huilin Xu, Pingpo Ming, Zhenyu Zhao, Nan Zhao, Dingjie Zhou, Xixian Tang and Dedong Cao in Integrative Cancer Therapies

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-ict-10.1177_15347354231164584 for Assessing the Relationship Between Liver Metastases and the Survival of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer After Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Huilin Xu, Pingpo Ming, Zhenyu Zhao, Nan Zhao, Dingjie Zhou, Xixian Tang and Dedong Cao in Integrative Cancer Therapies

Additional file 8: Table S8. Immune-related DEGs in SPLC and sMPLC patients.

Climate change mitigation is the prime priority of businesses in the modern world, making them inclined to opt for clean energy acceptance. From the end-user perspective, acceptance of novel technologies is inevitably vital in promoting such technologies, and certain factors could play an influential role in shaping the acceptance behavior of businesses in embracing those technologies. Against this background, the purpose of this study is to determine the factors that influence the acceptance of solar panel systems (SPS) by small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Pakistan. A questionnaire survey was conducted in seven districts of Pakistan’s Punjab province from December 2021 to February 2022. The data were collected using a Five-point Likert scale. Based on the questionnaire survey, the variance-based structural equation model technique is utilized. The outcomes are: 1) size of the business, ease of using SPS, and credibility of SPS are the top three driving forces. 2) The cost of SPS, and the pressure of competitors are the bottlenecks to the acceptance of SPS, while the absence of technical skills is a neutral factor. 3) According to the effect size and path coefficients, the cost of SPS, and the size of the business are found to be the most significant factors, while the absence of technical skills is found to have less significance. As it is found that economic incentives majorly affect the acceptance of SPS thus, it is concluded that lowering the cost of SPS will increase its acceptance. Based on empirical results, it is suggested to promote public awareness about the environmentally-friendly nature of solar power systems to improve its acceptability at the individual as well as firm levels.

The underbody of a vehicle system, either military or civil, is typically made of a relatively thin metallic plate, thus vulnerable to mine blast attacks. To improve the blast resistance, a multitude of protective structures have been proposed as attachments to the thin plate. In the present study, a novel ultralight all-metallic sandwich panel with three-dimensional (3D) tube cellular cores mounted to the vehicle underbody was envisioned as such a protective system. A metallic substrate (mimicking vehicle bottom) was placed above the proposed sandwich panel to construct a sandwich-substrate combinative structure. A series of sandwich panels having 3D tube cellular cores were fabricated via argon protected welding and laser welding. Mechanical responses of the combinative structure subjected to the denotation of 6 kg TNT explosives shallow-buried in dry sand were experimentally measured. Full numerical simulations with the method of finite elements (FE) were subsequently carried out to explore the physical mechanisms underlying the observed dynamic performance and quantify the effects of key geometrical parameters and connection conditions of the protective system. The performance of the proposed sandwich panel under shallow-buried explosives was also compared with competing sandwich constructions having equal mass. Finally, a preliminary optimal design of the 3D tube cellular core was carried out.

We present a study of the measurement of the effective weak mixing angle parameter ($\sin^2\theta_{\text{eff}}^{\text{$\ell$}}$) at the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC). As a fundamental physics parameter, $\sin^2\theta_{\text{eff}}^{\text{$\ell$}}$ plays a key role not only in the global test of the standard model electroweak sector, but also in constraining the potential beyond standard model new physics at high energy frontier. CEPC proposes a two year running period around the $Z$ boson mass pole at high instantaneous luminosity. It is demonstrated that with one month data taken, the uncertainty of $\sin^2\theta_{\text{eff}}^{\text{$\ell$}}$ at $Z$ pole can be reduced to 0.00001 both in the lepton and heavy quark final states, which is much smaller than the theoretical uncertainty of the calculation with two-loop radiative corrections. It will not only improve the precision with respect to the measurements from previous colliders including the LEP, SLC, Tevatron and LHC, but also provide direct comparison between different final states. In this paper, we also study the measurement of $\sin^2\theta_{\text{eff}}^{\text{$\ell$}}$ at high mass region. With one month data taken, the precision of $\sin^2\theta_{\text{eff}}^{\text{$\ell$}}$ measured at 130 GeV from $b$ quark final state is 0.00007, which will be an important experimental observation on the energy-running effect of $\sin^2\theta_{\text{eff}}^{\text{$\ell$}}$.

Laser polishing was used to reduce the surface roughness and improve the surface properties of alumina ceramics. In this paper, a response surface experimental design scheme is used to establish a mathematical model based on the Box–Behnken central combination principle, with the surface roughness as the optimization target to optimize the optimal process parameters for the laser polishing of alumina ceramics, to suppress the polished surface cracks by preheating the material, and to study the changes of surface properties of laser-polished alumina ceramics under different preheating temperatures. The optimal laser polishing process parameters were optimized by response surface experiments with a scanning speed of 323.5 mm/s, a laser power of 73.63 W, a pulse frequency of 2.3 kHz, and a scanning spacing of 0.09 mm; compared with the initial surface roughness of 4.67 μm, the polished surface roughness was 0.96 μm under the experimentally optimized polishing parameters, and the surface cracks were suppressed after the preheating treatment. The surface roughness was further reduced to 0.74 μm, and the surface wear coefficient was reduced from 0.5939 to 0.5725, while the surface hardness was increased from 1810 to 2063 HV. Optimization of the laser polishing process parameters through the response surface can significantly reduce the surface roughness of the material, while the flame preheating, assisted by the laser-polished surface wear resistance and hardness, is improved.

Background Alternative splicing (AS) plays important roles in transcriptome and proteome diversity. Its dysregulation has a close affiliation with oncogenic processes. This study aimed to evaluate AS-based biomarkers by machine learning algorithms for lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients. Method The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and TCGA SpliceSeq database were utilized. After data composition balancing, Boruta feature selection and Spearman correlation analysis were used for differentially expressed AS events. Random forests and a nested fivefold cross-validation were applied for lymph node metastasis (LNM) classifier building. Random survival forest combined with Cox regression model was performed for a prognostic model, based on which a nomogram was developed. Functional enrichment analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were also conducted to explore underlying mechanisms. The expression of some switch-involved AS events along with parent genes was verified by qRT-PCR with 20 pairs of normal and LUSC tissues. Results We found 16 pairs of splicing events from same parent genes which were strongly related to the splicing switch (intrapair correlation coefficient = − 1). Next, we built a reliable LNM classifier based on 13 AS events as well as a nice prognostic model, in which switched AS events behaved prominently. The qRT-PCR presented consistent results with previous bioinformatics analysis, and some AS events like ITIH5-10715-AT and QKI-78404-AT showed remarkable detection efficiency for LUSC. Conclusion AS events, especially switched ones from the same parent genes, could provide new insights into the molecular diagnosis and therapeutic drug design of LUSC.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Configuration settings of radiomics in the study. Table S2. The nine features selected for the predictive model construction.

Additional file 13: Figure S2. Relationships between clinical features and the risk model. The distribution of risk scores of LUSC patients in different clinical groups. LUSC patients were assigned to different groups according to clinical risk factors. (A) AJCC stage. (B) T stage. (C) N stage. (D) M stage. (E) Vital status. (F) Smoking history. (G) Gender. (H) Age.

Additional file 11: Table S11. The relationships between 26 SFs and selected survival-related AS events.

В статье проведен анализ основных экономических показателей финансово-хозяйственной деятельности крупнейшего банка Китая China Construction Bank, в том числе более подробно структура его затрат, большую часть которых составляют затраты на оплату труда. Проанализированы изменения показателей, вызванных влиянием пандемии, а также особенностей затрат на персонал в КНР в целом и в банковской сфере в частности. Сделаны выводы об эффективности проводимых руководством банка мероприятий по оптимизации данных видов затрат в целях повышения конкурентоспособности. The article analyzes the main economic indicators of the financial and economic activities of the largest bank in China, China Construction Bank, including in more detail the structure of its costs, most of which are labor costs. The changes in indicators caused by the impact of the pandemic, as well as the peculiarities of personnel costs in China in general and in the banking sector in particular, are analyzed. Conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of the measures taken by the bank's management to optimize these types of costs in order to increase competitiveness.

Smart home IoT systems and devices are susceptible to attacks and malfunctions. As a result, users' concerns about their security and safety issues arise along with the prevalence of smart home deployments. In a smart home, various anomalies (such as fire or flooding) could happen, due to cyber attacks, device malfunctions, or human mistakes. These concerns motivate researchers to propose various anomaly detection approaches. Existing works on smart home anomaly detection focus on checking the sequence of IoT devices' events but leave out the temporal information of events. This limitation prevents them to detect anomalies that cause delay rather than missing/injecting events. To fill this gap, in this paper, we propose a novel anomaly detection method that takes the inter-event intervals into consideration. We propose an innovative metric to quantify the temporal similarity between two event sequences. We design a mechanism to learn the temporal patterns of event sequences of common daily activities. Delay-caused anomalies are detected by comparing the sequence with the learned patterns. We collect device events from a real-world testbed for training and testing. The experiment results show that our proposed method achieves accuracies of 93%, 88%, 89% for three daily activities.

Additional file 2: Table S1. The sequences information of fecal samples. Group: Normal, Model, SNT and Meto represent normal group, model group, Sini Decoction treatment group and metoprolol treatment group, respectively; Seq num: sequences number; Base num: number of bases.

In-circuit impedance provides key information for many EMC applications. The inductive coupling approach is a promising method for in-circuit impedance measurement because its measurement setups have no direct electrical contact with the energized system under test, thus greatly simplifying the on-site implementation. This paper presents and summaries the latest research on the inductive coupling approach and its EMC applications. First of all, three common measurement setups for this approach and their respective pros and cons are discussed. Subsequently, their EMC applications are introduced. Finally, recommendations for future research are listed.

Additional file 12: Figure S1 Supplementary verification of qRT-PCR results. A Product sizes of selected primers. B Online database verification of qRT-PCR results. For each column (from top to bottom), we presented the expression of parent gene, the PSI values of selected AS event, and the PSI values of another AS event (to be paired with the former one) in normal lung samples and LUSC samples in order. RNA expression data in 49 normal lung tissues and 501 LUSC tissues from the TCGA-LUAD database were replenished for the analysis of LDB1, PTPN6, QKI, and ITIH5. N, normal; C, cancer.

Fengming Tian,1,&ast; Tao Jiang,2,&ast; Xinwei Qi,3 Zhenyu Zhao,4 Bin Li,1 Madinaimu Aibibula,1 Hongyue Min,5 Jingyi Zhang,1 Yumei Liu,3 Xiumin Ma1,3,5 1State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, Clinical Laboratory Center, Tumor Hospital Affiliated to Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of China; 2Animal Experiment Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130021, People’s Republic of China; 5School of Basic Medicine, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiumin MaState Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, Clinical Laboratory Center, Tumor Hospital Affiliated to Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail maxiumin1210@sohu.comYumei LiuState Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail 49644958@qq.comBackground: Liver fibrosis is a significant pathological change of Echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis) infection. This study aimed to explore the role of cytokines on the progression of liver fibrosis in mice infected with E. multilocularis.Methods: Liver histopathological features at 2, 8, 30, 90 and 180 d were quantified by inflammatory severity score. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, fibrosis-related cytokines and hepatic cell apoptosis were measured using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.Results: At the early stage of infection, parasite stimulation triggers the rapid recruitment of immune cells, such as macrophages and neutrophils. These infiltrated immune cells then produce a large number of cytokines, such as iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase), a pro-inflammatory cytokine; TGF-β (transforming growth factor) activated HSCs (hepatic stellate cells) to promote the proliferation of fibroblasts and secretion of ECM (extracellular matrix); MMP9 (matrix metalloproteinase 9) degraded basal ECM and facilitated its replacement by a highly dense interstitial matrix. At the middle and late stages of infection, the expression of IL-10 (interleukin-10) with general inhibitory effect was increased. The imbalance of fiber formation and degradation aggravated liver fibrosis. Meanwhile, the whole process of E. multilocularis infection was accompanied by the necrosis and apoptosis of hepatic cells.Conclusion: Along with the expansion of parasitic infection, dynamic changes in cytokine expression were observed on the liver fibrosis progression, which is helpful to provide some new ideas for the prevention and treatment of liver fibrosis in mice infected with E. multilocularis.Keywords: Echinococcus multilocularis, liver fibrosis, infection immunity, cytokines, parasite

TiB2/TiN/WC gradient ceramic tool materials are designed to solve the problem of high brittleness and low toughness of non-gradient ceramic tool materials. The finite element method is used to establish gradient symmetric distribution models with different numbers of layers and thickness ratios and analyze their residual stress distribution. The corresponding gradient ceramic tool materials are prepared by vacuum hot pressing sintering method, the mechanical properties being tested and microstructure observed. The results show that the number of layers, layer thickness ratios and thermal expansion coefficient of each gradient layer affect the distribution of residual stress in different aspects. With the increase of the number of layers or layer thickness ratio, the material surface residual compressive stress increases gradually. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the tool material with 7 layers and thickness ratio of 1 are 974.8 MPa and 8.5 MPa·m1/2 respectively, and the Vickers hardness of the tool surface is 19.68 GPa, which are 27.68%, 44.07% and 12.26% higher than those of the non-gradient ceramic tool materials. The fracture mode of the surface layer of tool material changes from intergranular fracture to synergistic effect of intergranular fracture and transgranular fracture. The increase of residual compressive stress is the main strengthening and toughening mechanism.

An improved analytical model is developed to predict the dynamic response of clamped lightweight sandwich beams with cellular cores subjected to shock loading over the entire span. The clamped face sheets are simplified as a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system, and the core is idealized using the rigid-perfectly-plastic-locking (RPPL) model. Reflection of incident shock wave is considered by incorporating the bending/stretching resistance of the front face sheet and compaction of the core. The model is validated with existing analytical predictions and FE simulation results, with good agreement achieved. Compared with existing analytical models, the proposed model exhibits superiority in two aspects: the deformation resistance of front face sheet during shock wave reflection is taken into account; the effect of pulse shape is considered. The practical application range of the proposed model is therefore wider. Keywords: Sandwich beam, Cellular core, Shock loading, Analytical model

An asymmetric synthesis of 5-halomethyl pyrazolines and isoxazolines which bear a tertiary stereocenter by catalytic halocyclization of β,γ-unsaturated hydrazones and ketoximes is described. By using Bronsted acids of anionic chiral Co(III) complexes as catalysts, a variety of chiral 5-halomethyl pyrazolines and isoxazolines were obtained in good yields with high enantioselectivities (up to 99% yield, 97:3 er). Preliminary bioassay results indicated that several isoxazoline derivatives exhibited significant antifungal activities.

Free vibration of ultralight all-metallic (Ti-6Al-4V alloy) sandwich beams with corrugated channel cores was investigated by experiments and finite element (FE) simulations. The natural frequencies and mode shapes were measured and compared with simulations from both three-dimensional model (3D model) and two-dimensional equivalent model (2D model). Predictions of the 2D model agreed well with results obtained from the 3D model and experiments. It was found that for sandwich beams, the topological change from corrugated core to corrugated channel core eliminates the anisotropy of the structural stiffness and suppresses the local modes of vibration. The effect of geometrical parameters on the first natural frequency was also explored. In addition, preliminary assessment of the influence induced by varying the core topology was carried out. The first natural frequency of sandwich beams with corrugated channel cores having an inclination angle θ > 45° is higher than those of sandwich beams constructed with competing core topologies, including tetrahedral, Kagome and pyramidal trusses and hexagonal honeycombs.

Metallic circular tube with external uniform grooves has excellent behaviors on axial crashworthiness during axial compression because it can generate stable responses. In the present research, three novel energy absorbers are proposed based on uniform grooved tube (UGT), namely, depth gradient grooved tube (D-GGT), thickness gradient grooved tube (T-GGT) and coupling gradient grooved tube (C-GGT). A theoretical model considering both the depth and thickness gradients and an efficient numerical model based on axisymmetric assumption are put forward. Meanwhile, some quasi-static compression experiments are performed to validate the theoretical and numerical models. The results conclude that the deformation of gradient grooved tubes (GGTs) under axial buckling can be classified into two modes, namely, random asymptotic buckling (RAB) and sequential asymptotic buckling (SAB). Compared with UGT, the D-GGT has a slight improvement on the axial energy performance even though the sum of depth of thin-walled sections is constant; for T-GGT, a force-displacement curve with upward trend and an obvious improvement of energy absorption are observed; specially, the energy absorption characteristics of D-GGT and T-GGT will occur simultaneously when C-GGT is subjected to axial loading.

Novel ultralight sandwich panels, which are comprised of corrugated channel cores and are faced with two identical solid sheets, subjected to generalized bending are optimally designed for minimum mass. A combined analytical and numerical (finite element) investigation is carried out. Relevant failure mechanisms such as face yielding, face buckling, core yielding and core buckling are identified, the load for each failure mode derived, and the corresponding failure mechanism maps constructed. The analytically predicted failure loads and failure modes are validated against direct finite element simulations, with good agreement achieved. The optimized corrugated channel core is compared with competing topologies for sandwich construction including corrugations, honeycombs and lattice trusses, and the superiority of the proposed structure is demonstrated. Corrugated-channel-core sandwich panels hold great potential for multifunctional applications, i.e., simultaneous load bearing and active cooling.

Ultralight all-metallic sandwich cylindrical shells with corrugated cores are designed and fabricated using a method involving tamping and shape correction. Quasi-static axial compressive behaviors of the sandwich shells are investigated using a combined experimental, theoretical and numerical approach. Based on the analytical model and numerical approach, systematic parametric study is carried out to explore the effects of key geometrical parameters on the failure load and energy absorption capacity. Minimum weight design as a function of the failure load is subsequently carried out for the proposed sandwich shell. As an attempt for further performance enhancement, the foam-filled corrugated-core sandwich cylindrical shell is proposed and a preliminary experimental study is carried out. The superiority of sandwich shells over monolithic shells in terms of initial failure load and energy absorption is clearly demonstrated, potentially important for applications demanding simultaneous ultra-lightweight, load-bearing and energy absorption. Keywords: Sandwich cylindrical shell, Corrugated core, Axial compression, Minimum weight design

A refined four-unknown quasi-3D zigzag beam theory is developed to model the free vibration and buckling behaviors of multilayered composite beams subjected to axial mechanical loading (e.g., distributed load and terminal force) and uniform temperature variation. Types of the composite beams considered include laminated composite beams, sandwich beams with composite face sheets, and fiber metal laminates. The proposed theory accounts for not only thickness stretching but also interlaminar continuity of transverse shear stresses and displacements. Associated eigenvalue problems for various boundary conditions are derived using the Ritz method. Accuracy and effectiveness of the theoretical predictions are verified by comparison with existing results and present finite element simulations. The theory is employed to quantify the effects of axial distributed load/terminal force and temperature variation on free vibration and buckling for different boundary conditions, geometric parameters and material properties. The present theory could produce sufficiently accurate predictions of natural frequencies and buckling capacities of multilayered beams at a very low computational cost.

Fe3O4 nanoparticle-infiltrated chromatography paper is prepared using a low-cost blending method. Upon characterizing the basic material properties of the Fe3O4/paper nanocomposite, beam-, accordion- and star-shaped actuators are constructed using the nanocomposite and the corresponding actuation performance is investigated experimentally. The beam-shaped actuator exhibits a reversible flexural deformation due to low magnetic hysteresis loop of the Fe3O4/paper nanocomposite, maintaining a stable response after 100 cycles. The accordion-shaped actuator can reach a maximum strain of 100% while the star-shaped actuator can capture a spitball twice heavier than itself.

Dual-level stress plateaus (i.e., relatively short peak stress plateaus, followed by prolonged crushing stress plateaus) in metallic hexagonal honeycombs subjected to out-of-plane impact loading are characterized using a combined numerical and analytical study, with the influence of the strain-rate sensitivity of the honeycomb parent material accounted for. The predictions are validated against existing experimental measurements, and good agreement is achieved. It is demonstrated that honeycombs exhibit dual-level stress plateaus when bucklewaves are initiated and propagate in cell walls, followed by buckling and progressive folding of the cell walls. The abrupt stress drop from peak to crushing plateau in the compressive stress versus strain curve can be explained in a way similar to the quasi-static buckling of a clamped plate. The duration of the peak stress plateau is more evident for strain-rate insensitive honeycombs.

Ultralight sandwich constructions with corrugated channel cores (i.e., periodic fluid-through wavy passages) are envisioned to possess multifunctional attributes: simultaneous load-carrying and heat dissipation via active cooling. Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) corrugated-channel-cored sandwich panels (3CSPs) with thin face sheets and core webs were fabricated via the technique of selective laser melting (SLM) for enhanced shear resistance relative to other fabrication processes such as vacuum brazing. Four-point bending responses of as-fabricated 3CSP specimens, including bending resistance and initial collapse modes, were experimentally measured. The bending characteristics of the 3CSP structure were further explored using a combined approach of analytical modeling and numerical simulation based on the method of finite elements (FE). Both the analytical and numerical predictions were validated against experimental measurements. Collapse mechanism maps of the 3CSP structure were subsequently constructed using the analytical model, with four collapse modes considered (face-sheet yielding, face-sheet buckling, core yielding, and core buckling), which were used to evaluate how its structural geometry affects its collapse initiation mode.

Electric Vehicles is regarded as an important solution for emission reduction. But, the adoption to it is still a problem in many countries. With survey data containing demographic and attitude factors of respondents, this paper proposes two classification models: logistic regression and random forest using the Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) as an intermediate step to identify the factors affecting the willingness of electric vehicles purchase. The analysis shows that the addition of MCA does enhance the explanatory power while it takes a low cost on prediction performance, and the results reveal that characteristics such as frequency of using modern transport services, car-sharing subscription, living place, mode of frequent trip do have a significant impact on EV purchases.

This thesis is organized as follows: Chapter 1 introduces the background, motivation, objectives, and contributions of this thesis. Chapter 2 presents a review of existing online impedance extraction approaches. Chapter 3 proposes the improved measurement setup of the inductive coupling approach and introduces the theory behind time-variant online impedance extraction. Chapter 4 develops a three-term calibration technique for the proposed measurement setup to deembed the effect of the probe-to-probe coupling between the inductive probes with the objective to improve the accuracy of online impedance extraction. Chapter 5 discusses the additional measurement setup consideration in industrial applications where significant electrical noise and power surges are present. Chapter 6 discusses and demonstrates the application of the inductive coupling approach in online detection of the incipient stator faults in the inverter-fed induction motor. Chapter 7 further extends the application of this approach for non-intrusive extraction of the voltage-dependent capacitances of the silicon carbide (SiC) power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). Finally, Chapter 8 concludes this thesis and proposes future works that are worth exploring.

Cardiovascular disease has become one of the main causes of human death. In addition, many cardiovascular diseases are accompanied by a series of irreversible damages that lead to organ and vascular complications. In recent years, the potential therapeutic strategy of natural antioxidants in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases through mitochondrial quality control has received extensive attention. Mitochondria are the main site of energy metabolism in eukaryotic cells, including myocardial and vascular endothelial cells. Mitochondrial quality control processes ensure normal activities of mitochondria and cells by maintaining stable mitochondrial quantity and quality, thus protecting myocardial and endothelial cells against stress. Various stresses can affect mitochondrial morphology and function. Natural antioxidants extracted from plants and natural medicines are becoming increasingly common in the clinical treatment of diseases, especially in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Natural antioxidants can effectively protect myocardial and endothelial cells from stress-induced injury by regulating mitochondrial quality control, and their safety and effectiveness have been preliminarily verified. This review summarises the damage mechanisms of various stresses in cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells and the mechanisms of natural antioxidants in improving the vulnerability of these cell types to stress by regulating mitochondrial quality control. This review is aimed at paving the way for novel treatments for cardiovascular diseases and the development of natural antioxidant drugs.

In order to realize the rationality of development sequence and layout of regional substation construction projects and the economic objectives of investment, this paper studies the one-time or stage problems of substation construction, constructs dynamic location and capacity model which explores the cost difference of different substation construction schemes. The model uses ergodic algorithm and harmony search optimization algorithm to adjust the search process and other parameters to improve the ability of global optimization and iteration of the model. Through the optimization constraint relationship, the comprehensive scheme comparison of new substation and expansion is realized, so as to achieve the cost target of the whole process and the minimum number of membership changes. Through a case study, it is proved that the cost management advantages of phased investment and cost of the high voltage line construction can not be ignored. The model provides a new analysis tool for multi-stage cost planning of regional substation location and capacity.

Uplift modeling is a causal learning technique that estimates subgroup-level treatment effects. It is commonly used in industry and elsewhere for tasks such as targeting ads. In a typical setting, uplift models can take thousands of features as inputs, which is costly and results in problems such as overfitting and poor model interpretability. Consequently, there is a need to select a subset of the most important features for modeling. However, traditional methods for doing feature selection are not fit for the task because they are designed for standard machine learning models whose target is importantly different from uplift models. To address this, we introduce a set of feature selection methods explicitly designed for uplift modeling, drawing inspiration from statistics and information theory. We conduct empirical evaluations on the proposed methods on publicly available datasets, demonstrating the advantages of the proposed methods compared to traditional feature selection. We make the proposed methods publicly available as a part of the CausalML open-source package.

Degradation of the prothioconazole by three strains of microorganisms isolated from activated sludge obtained from a pesticide factory was assessed, and an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqTOF-MS) method for the determination of prothioconazole and its metabolites was established. The optimal conditions for the degradation of prothioconazole were determined by single factor optimization experiments. A degradation rate of 93.32% is achieved when the prothioconazole is co-cultured with the strain W313 at a cultivation time of 60 h, a cultivation temperature of 30 °C, a pH of 6.33, a prothioconazole concentration of 50 mg L−1, a microorganism volume of 10%, and a dextrose volume of 4%. The three effective microorganism strains were identified by morphological and molecular biology to be Candida tropicalis, Enterobacter cloacae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. UPLC-QqTOF-MS analysis allowed the identification of 62 different prothioconazole degradation products produced by the strain cultures, with prothioconazole-desthio, prothioconazole-dechloropropyl, and oxidizing prothioconazole being the main products. In addition, degradation products from different strains and conditions were compared. The results of scatter plot (S-Plot) analysis indicated that C9H7NO, C10H17N7, and C12H13ClN2O were only detected in the products incubated with Enterobacter cloacae. Thus, this study demonstrates that Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa possesses high potential for bioremediation of prothioconazole-contaminated environments.

CausalML is a Python implementation of algorithms related to causal inference and machine learning. Algorithms combining causal inference and machine learning have been a trending topic in recent years. This package tries to bridge the gap between theoretical work on methodology and practical applications by making a collection of methods in this field available in Python. This paper introduces the key concepts, scope, and use cases of this package.

The security of cloud infrastructure is an important issue. Many solutions have been proposed to protect the integrity of cloud infrastructure through integrating Trusted Computing hardware. However, these existing solutions suffer from high complexity, repetition and latency. In this paper, we propose a blockchain based cloud service dependency attestation framework–CloudCoT (Cloud Chain-of-Trust). With CloudCoT which combines trusted computing and blockchain technology, cloud users are able to automatically extract the valid dependency of their applications deployed on cloud. And they can attest the valid dependency with low latency through its measurement mechanism and verification mechanism. In addition to the decentralized features, we can see that CloudCoT has higher efficiency while maintaining strong safety in experimental evaluation.

Oxidative stress (OS) refers to the physiological imbalance between oxidative and antioxidative processes leading to increased oxidation, which then results in the inflammatory infiltration of neutrophils, increased protease secretion, and the production of a large number of oxidative intermediates. Oxidative stress is considered an important factor in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). At present, active components of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) have been widely used for the treatment of CVD, including coronary heart disease and hypertension. Since the discovery of artemisinin for the treatment of malaria by Nobel laureate Youyou Tu, the therapeutic effects of active components of CHM on various diseases have been widely investigated by the medical community. It has been found that various active CHM components can regulate oxidative stress and the circulatory system, including ginsenoside, astragaloside, and resveratrol. This paper reviews advances in the use of active CHM components that modulate oxidative stress, suggesting potential drugs for the treatment of various CVDs.

This article proposes a modified sequential multilateration method for measuring three-dimensional coordinates. The measuring system consists of a single laser tracker and four relay targets whose relative positions have been pre-calibrated by the multilateration method. The laser tracker is fixed on three prescribed positions successively, and these positions can be calibrated by using the distances between the laser tracker and the four relay targets based on the multilateration principle. Subsequently, the three-dimensional coordinates of each under-test point can be determined by the three laser trackers’ positions based on the trilateration principle. This method is more flexible than previous multilateration methods for three-dimensional coordinate collection, especially if the measurement space is partially covered by other objects. The mathematical model of this method is established. Based on the Monte Carlo method, a series of computer simulations are performed to optimize the system arrangement by investigating the performances of the measuring system with different system arrangement, and an optimal system arrangement is finally obtained. Practical measurement is also conducted to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method by comparing with a reference coordinate measuring machine.

In this paper, noise removing of the well test data is considered. We use the Legendre expansion to approximate well test data and a truncated strategy has been employed to reduce noise. The parameter of the truncation will be chosen by a discrepancy principle and a corresponding convergence result has been obtained. The theoretical analysis shows that a well numerical approximation can be obtained by the new method. Moreover, we can directly obtain the stable numerical derivatives of the pressure data in this method. Finally, we give some numerical tests to show the effectiveness of the method.

A novel sandwich core topology – corrugated channels (periodic fluid-through wavy passages) – was proposed for simultaneous load-bearing and active cooling applications. Relative to a sandwich panel with parallel plate channels, the sandwich with corrugated channel core exhibits not only significantly enhanced convective heat transfer rate but also superior mechanical performance. To explore the underlying deformation and failure mechanisms, corrugated-channel-cored sandwich panels (3CSPs) with low relative densities (

Wrinkles greatly affect the viewing quality of projection screens. Based on the bifurcation buckling theory, a modified model of screen was established. Various methods were introduced to improve the convergence and accuracy of the model. The causes of wrinkles were analyzed. It is found that the crescent wrinkles on side edges were caused by the free boundary conditions while the divergent wrinkles were resulted from the non-uniform displacement of the bottom edge. The simulation and measured results fit well on wave number, amplitude, wavelength, etc. The screen was optimized according to the analysis results and a perfect wrinkle-free screen was achieved after optimization. The method in this paper is proved applicable, accurate and convenient, which can greatly save time and cost for engineering design of large-scale wrinkle-free membrane.