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Abnormal proliferation of aggressive fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) and perpetuate synovial inflammation can inevitably accelerate the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Herein, a strategy of simultaneously promoting FLS apoptosis and inhibiting inflammation as mediated by macrophages is proposed to restore synovial homeostasis for effective RA therapy. A hyaluronic acid-based dissolvable microneedle (MN) is fabricated for transdermal delivery of dual human serum albumin (HSA)-contained biomimetic nanocomplexes to regulate RA FLS and macrophages. Upon skin insertion, dual nanocomplexes are released rapidly from the MN and accumulate in RA joint microenvironment through both passive and active targeting as mediated by HSA. Thioketal-crosslinked fluorinated polyethyleneimine 1.8 K (TKPF) was constructed to bind the plasmid encoding pro-apoptotic gene PUMA with HSA coating layer (TKPF/pPUMA@HSA, TPH). TPH nanocomplexes can upregulate PUMA through RA FLS transfection to trigger efficient apoptosis. Also, HSA nanocomplexes encapsulating the classic anti-inflammatory natural product celastrol (Cel@HSA, CH) can inhibit inflammation of macrophages through blocking NF-κB pathway activation. TPH/CH MN can deplete RA FLS and inhibit M1 macrophage activation, suppress synovial hyperplasia as well as reduce bone and cartilage erosion in a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model, demonstrating a promising strategy for efficient RA treatment.

Objective: Accidental pharyngeal fishbone ingestion is a common complaint in ear, nose, and throat clinics. Approximately two-thirds of the accidentally ingested fishbones can be removed using tongue depressors and indirect laryngoscopy. However, the remaining third is challenging to identify and remove using these methods. These difficult fishbones require identification and removal via more advanced approaches. Video-guided laryngoscope is used to deal with difficult fishbones in our center. This study aimed to explore the risk factors for difficult fishbones.Methods: A prospective study was performed at a teaching hospital on 2080 patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the risk factors.Results: The common fishbone locations were the tonsils (39.8%; defined as STEP-I), tongue base (37.1%), vallecula (13.3%; STEP-II), and hypopharynx (9.8%; STEP-III). With increasing STEP level, the ratio of difficult fishbones correspondingly increased (Z = 13.919, P< .001), and the proportions were 21.1%, 41.9%, and 70% in STEP-I, II, and III, respectively. In particular, fishbones in STEP-III (vs STEP-I) had a higher risk of difficult fishbones (odds ratio [OR]: 11.573, 95% CI: 7.987-16.769). Complaints of neck pain (yes vs no), foreign body sensation (yes vs no), and shorter length of fishbones always had a lower risk of difficult fishbones (OR: 0.455, 95% CI: 0.367-0.564; OR: 0.284, 95% CI: 0.191-0.422; OR: 0.727, 95% CI: 0.622-0.85). Missing teeth (yes vs no), swallowing behavior after fishbone ingestion (yes vs no), and male patients (vs female) had a higher risk of difficult fishbones (OR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.47-2.456; OR: 1.631, 95% CI: 1.293-2.059; OR: 1.278, 95% CI: 1.047-1.56).Conclusions: Neck pain, foreign body sensation, fishbone length, patient age and sex, tooth status, and swallowing behavior after fishbone ingestion are independent risk factors for difficult fishbones.

In contrast to three-dimensional (3D) crystals that melt via a first-order transition, 2D crystals can exhibit various melting scenarios under different temperatures, pressures, and particle interactions, particularly when they can form partially ordered intermediate phases between crystal and liquid. The existing 2D melting theories predict some scenarios but do not exclude other possibilities. A recent simulation observed five melting scenarios, including two new types, by tuning the shape of polygonal particles.

Frizzled receptors (FZDs) are key contributors intrinsic to the Wnt signaling pathway, activation of FZDs triggering the Wnt signaling cascade is frequently observed in human tumors and intimately associated with an aggressive carcinoma phenotype. It has been shown that the abnormal expression of FZD receptors contributes to the manifestation of malignant characteristics in human tumors such as enhanced cell proliferation, metastasis, chemotherapy resistance as well as the acquisition of cancer stemness. Given the essential roles of FZD receptors in the Wnt signaling in human tumors, this review aims to consolidate the prevailing knowledge on the specific status of FZD receptors (FZD1–10) and elucidate their respective functions in tumor progression. Furthermore, we delineate the structural basis for binding of FZD and its co-receptors to Wnt, and provide a better theoretical foundation for subsequent studies on related mechanisms. Finally, we describe the existing biological classes of small molecule-based FZD inhibitors in detail in the hope that they can provide useful assistance for design and development of novel drug candidates targeted FZDs.

This study aimed to explore the role and mechanism of DYRK1a regulating ferroptosis of cardiomyocytes during myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury (MIRI). H9c2 cells treated with oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) were used as MIRI cell models and transfected with sh‐DYRK1a or/and erastin. Cell viability, apoptosis, and DYRK1a mRNA/protein expression were measured accordingly. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), iron, malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione (GSH) were determined. The expression of ferroptosis‐related proteins (GPX4, SLC7A11, ACSL4, and TFR1) was detected using western blotting. The MIRI rat model was established to explore the possible role of DYRK1a suppression in cell injury and ferroptosis. OGD/R cells showed elevated mRNA and protein expression for DYRK1a. OGD/R cells transfected with sh‐DYRK1a showed elevated cell viability, GSH content, increased GPX4 and SLC7A11 expression, suppressed iron content, MDA, ROS, ACSL4, and TFR1 expression, and reduced apoptosis rate, whereas co‐transfection of sh‐DYRK1a with erastin reversed the attenuation of sh‐DYRK1a on MIRI. The suppressive effect of sh‐DYRK1a on MI/R injury was confirmed in an MIRI rat model. DYRK1a mediates ferroptosis of cardiomyocytes to deteriorate MIRI progression.

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Accurate prediction of wind speed and its output power is playing an essential role in the planning and scheduling of wind power grid. This study presents a novel two-stage data-driven model for ultra-short-term wind speed prediction based on the smoothing spline preprocessing (SSP) method and error optimization theory (EOT). Firstly, high-resolution wind data observed from 39 wind turbines are collected and transformed according to the proposed SSP method to eliminate the non-Gaussian and non-stationary features. Then, several individual models are introduced to perform multi-step ahead wind speed prediction for the transformed wind data, and the prediction of transformed data should be recovered to wind speed. Finally, these single models are combined based on the proposed EOT theory for multi-step ahead wind speed prediction, and their accuracy and uncertainty are analyzed and compared with other existing models in depth. The results show that the proposed SSP method can reasonably identify non-Gaussian and non-stationary features of the original wind series, and the transformed data are more favorable for prediction. Furthermore, the suggested two-stage data-driven model can reduce prediction errors by 3%–20% compared with other models mentioned in this study, indicating that it is more effective and stable in terms of providing reasonable ultra-short-term wind speed prediction results.

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we investigate the information sharing within an organisation and its consequences on mutual fund performance. Using a sample from the US open-end mutual fund industry, information sharing inside an organisation is quantified via the dependence of individual funds from the fund family joint information set. The findings indicate a positive relationship between the degree of information sharing and the resulting fund performance. This remains robust across different performance evaluation metrics and various model specifications. Such superior performance can be attributed to the quality of information shared across affiliated fund members and timely information diffusion within the fund family.

We characterize the class of idempotent nullnorms on a bounded lattice in terms of particular common solutions to two equations related to the underlying meet and join operations. When this common solution is unique, it is an idempotent nullnorm if and only if it is increasing on a particular set. As an application of this characterization, we present several construction methods for idempotent nullnorms on a bounded lattice. These construction methods unify and generalize several known ones in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of multifunctional materials in various fields such as electronics and signal processors has attracted massive attention. Herein, a new organic-inorganic hybrid material [Et3NCH2Cl]2[MnBr4] (1) is reported, which contains two organic amines cations and one [MnBr4] tetrahedral ion. Compound 1has a dielectric anomaly signal at 338 K, which proves its thermodynamic phase transition. The single crystal measurements at 200 K and 380 K show that the phase transition of compound 1is caused by the thermal vibration of organic amine cations in the lattice. Moreover, compound 1shows yellow-green luminescence under UV light irradiation. The magnetism measurements indicate that compound 1shows switchable magnetic properties. This organic–inorganic material is a multifunctional material with dielectric, optical, and magnetic synergetic switchable effects, which expands a new direction for designing multifunctional materials.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused millions of deaths worldwide. Genome-wide association studies identified the 3p21.31 region as conferring a twofold increased risk of respiratory failure. Here, using a combined multiomics and machine learning approach, we identify the gain-of-function risk A allele of an SNP, rs17713054G>A, as a probable causative variant. We show with chromosome conformation capture and gene-expression analysis that the rs17713054-affected enhancer upregulates the interacting gene, leucine zipper transcription factor like 1 (LZTFL1). Selective spatial transcriptomic analysis of lung biopsies from patients with COVID-19 shows the presence of signals associated with epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a viral response pathway that is regulated by LZTFL1. We conclude that pulmonary epithelial cells undergoing EMT, rather than immune cells, are likely responsible for the 3p21.31-associated risk. Since the 3p21.31 effect is conferred by a gain-of-function, LZTFL1may represent a therapeutic target.

In higher eukaryotes, many genes are regulated by enhancers that are 104–106base pairs (bp) away from the promoter. Enhancers contain transcription-factor-binding sites (which are typically around 7–22 bp), and physical contact between the promoters and enhancers is thought to be required to modulate gene expression. Although chromatin architecture has been mapped extensively at resolutions of 1 kilobase and above; it has not been possible to define physical contacts at the scale of the proteins that determine gene expression. Here we define these interactions in detail using a chromosome conformation capture method (Micro-Capture-C) that enables the physical contacts between different classes of regulatory elements to be determined at base-pair resolution. We find that highly punctate contacts occur between enhancers, promoters and CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) sites and we show that transcription factors have an important role in the maintenance of the contacts between enhancers and promoters. Our data show that interactions between CTCF sites are increased when active promoters and enhancers are located within the intervening chromatin. This supports a model in which chromatin loop extrusion1is dependent on cohesin loading at active promoters and enhancers, which explains the formation of tissue-specific chromatin domains without changes in CTCF binding.

Many established, but also potential future applications of NiTi-based shape memory alloys (SMA) in biomedical devices and solid-state refrigeration require long fatigue life with 107–109duty cycles1,2. However, improving the fatigue resistance of NiTi often compromises other mechanical and functional properties3,4. Existing efforts to improve the fatigue resistance of SMA include composition control for coherent phase boundaries5–7and microstructure control such as precipitation8,9and grain-size reduction3,4. Here, we extend the strategy to the nanoscale and improve fatigue resistance of NiTi via a hybrid heterogenous nanostructure. We produced a superelastic NiTi nanocomposite with crystalline and amorphous phases via severe plastic deformation and low-temperature annealing. The as-produced nanocomposite possesses a recoverable strain of 4.3% and a yield strength of 2.3 GPa. In cyclic compression experiments, the nanostructured NiTi micropillars endure over 108reversible-phase-transition cycles under a stress of 1.8 GPa. We attribute the enhanced properties to the mutual strengthening of nanosized amorphous and crystalline phases where the amorphous phase suppresses dislocation slip in the crystalline phase while the crystalline phase hinders shear band propagation in the amorphous phase. The synergy of the properties of crystalline and amorphous phases at the nanoscale could be an effective method to improve fatigue resistance and strength of SMA.

Invasive fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), inflammatory macrophages and osteoclasts are the main three contributors to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progression by promoting synovial inflammation and destructing cartilage and bone. Targeting these three cell types for restoring the inflammatory homeostasis microenvironment may be a promising anti-RA strategy. Herein, we prepared a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive micelles (DPTM) to co-load dexamethasone (DEX) and pristimerin (PRI) for RA therapy. This ROS-responsive system exhibits the following advantages: (1) It makes use of the "ELVIS" effect for passive delivery and targeting the ROS environment of RA-related cells to rapidly release the payload drugs DEX and PRI. (2) Compared with free drugs, DPTM showed stronger effect on the inhibition of RA-FLS proliferation and the promotion of RA-FLS apoptosis. Moreover, DPTM could significantly weaken the migration ability of RA-FLS as indicated by the results of wound healing assay and transwell assay. (3) DPTM exerted stronger cellular uptake and anti-inflammatory effect in M1 macrophages. (4) In the model studying receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL)-induced differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) to osteoclasts, DPTM showed a stronger inhibitory activity on osteoclast formation as compared to free drugs. Taken together, these results highlighted the potential of DPTM for targeted RA therapy via inhibition of RA-FLS abnormal activation, macrophage polarization and osteoclastogenesis.

Gout is a hyperuricemia (HUA)-related inflammatory reaction in the joints. Leech therapy has been effective in the gout, but the exact mechanism is unclear. In this study, an exploration of the therapeutic mechanism of leech therapy in HUA and gouty arthritis (GA) rats.

Although cytokine-mediated expansion of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can result in high yields of hematopoietic progenitor cells, this generally occurs at the expense of reduced bone marrow HSC repopulating ability, thereby limiting potential therapeutic applications. Because bromodomain-containing proteins (BCPs) have been demonstrated to regulate mouse HSC self-renewal and stemness, we screened small molecules targeting various BCPs as potential agents for ex vivo expansion of human HSCs. Of 10 compounds tested, only the bromodomain and extra-terminal motif inhibitor CPI203 enhanced the expansion of human cord blood HSCs without losing cell viability in vitro. The expanded cells also demonstrated improved engraftment and repopulation in serial transplantation assays. Transcriptomic and functional studies showed that the expansion of long-term repopulating HSCs was accompanied by synchronized expansion and maturation of megakaryocytes consistent with CPI203-mediated reprogramming of cord blood hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. This approach may therefore prove beneficial for ex vivo gene editing, for enhanced platelet production, and for the improved usage of cord blood for transplantation research and therapy.

A novel visible-light-driven Cu/rGO/MoS2ternary nanostructure as a photocatalyst with high catalytic activity towards degradation of rhodamine B was successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal method.

Human lymphopoiesis is a dynamic lifelong process that starts in utero 6 weeks postconception. Although fetal B-lymphopoiesis remains poorly defined, it is key to understanding leukemia initiation in early life. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the human fetal B-cell developmental hierarchy. We report the presence in fetal tissues of 2 distinct CD19+ B-progenitors, an adult-type CD10+ve ProB-progenitor and a new CD10-ve PreProB-progenitor, and describe their molecular and functional characteristics. PreProB-progenitors and ProB-progenitors appear early in the first trimester in embryonic liver, followed by a sustained second wave of B-progenitor development in fetal bone marrow (BM), where together they form >40% of the total hematopoietic stem cell/progenitor pool. Almost one-third of fetal B-progenitors are CD10-ve PreProB-progenitors, whereas, by contrast, PreProB-progenitors are almost undetectable (0.53% ± 0.24%) in adult BM. Single-cell transcriptomics and functional assays place fetal PreProB-progenitors upstream of ProB-progenitors, identifying them as the first B-lymphoid–restricted progenitor in human fetal life. Although fetal BM PreProB-progenitors and ProB-progenitors both give rise solely to B-lineage cells, they are transcriptionally distinct. As with their fetal counterparts, adult BM PreProB-progenitors give rise only to B-lineage cells in vitro and express the expected B-lineage gene expression program. However, fetal PreProB-progenitors display a distinct, ontogeny-related gene expression pattern that is not seen in adult PreProB-progenitors, and they share transcriptomic signatures with CD10-ve B-progenitor infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia blast cells. These data identify PreProB-progenitors as the earliest B-lymphoid–restricted progenitor in human fetal life and suggest that this fetal-restricted committed B-progenitor might provide a permissive cellular context for prenatal B-progenitor leukemia initiation.

Human lymphopoiesis is a dynamic lifelong process that starts in utero 6 weeks postconception. Although fetal B-lymphopoiesis remains poorly defined, it is key to understanding leukemia initiation in early life. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the human fetal B-cell developmental hierarchy. We report the presence in fetal tissues of 2 distinct CD19+B-progenitors, an adult-type CD10+ve ProB-progenitor and a new CD10-ve PreProB-progenitor, and describe their molecular and functional characteristics. PreProB-progenitors and ProB-progenitors appear early in the first trimester in embryonic liver, followed by a sustained second wave of B-progenitor development in fetal bone marrow (BM), where together they form >40% of the total hematopoietic stem cell/progenitor pool. Almost one-third of fetal B-progenitors are CD10-ve PreProB-progenitors, whereas, by contrast, PreProB-progenitors are almost undetectable (0.53% ± 0.24%) in adult BM. Single-cell transcriptomics and functional assays place fetal PreProB-progenitors upstream of ProB-progenitors, identifying them as the first B-lymphoid–restricted progenitor in human fetal life. Although fetal BM PreProB-progenitors and ProB-progenitors both give rise solely to B-lineage cells, they are transcriptionally distinct. As with their fetal counterparts, adult BM PreProB-progenitors give rise only to B-lineage cells in vitro and express the expected B-lineage gene expression program. However, fetal PreProB-progenitors display a distinct, ontogeny-related gene expression pattern that is not seen in adult PreProB-progenitors, and they share transcriptomic signatures with CD10-ve B-progenitor infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia blast cells. These data identify PreProB-progenitors as the earliest B-lymphoid–restricted progenitor in human fetal life and suggest that this fetal-restricted committed B-progenitor might provide a permissive cellular context for prenatal B-progenitor leukemia initiation.

H5N1 influenza represents one of the great challenges to public health. Some H5N1 viruses (i.e., A/goose/Hubei/65/05, GS/65) are weakly pathogenic, while the others (i.e., A/duck/Hubei/49/05, DK/49) are highly pathogenic to their natural hosts. Here, we performed brain and spleen transcriptomic analyses of control ducks and ones infected by the DK/49 or the GS/65 H5N1 virus. We demonstrated that, compared to the GS/65 virus, the DK/49 virus infection changed more numerous immune genes’ expression and caused continuous increasing of immune pathways (i.e., RIG-I and MDA5) in ducks. We found that both H5N1 virus strains might escape or subvert host immune response through affecting alternative translation of immune genes, while the DK/49 virus seemed to induce alternative translation of more immune genes than the GS/65 virus. We also identified five co-expressional modules associated with H5N1 virus replication through the weight correlation network analysis (WGCNA). Moreover, we first demonstrated that the duck BCL2L15and DCSTAMPin one of these five modules inhibited both the highly pathogenic and weakly pathogenic H5N1 virus replication efficiently. These analyses, in combination with our comprehensive transcriptomic data, provided global view of the molecular architecture for the interaction between host and H5N1 viruses.

Coastal defence structures become more vulnerable due to changing environments such as sea level rise caused by climate change, hence requiring accurate time-variant reliability analyses in order to provide optimum maintenance strategies. This paper presents a method for assessing wave overtopping risk of the coastal defences subjected to changing operation conditions. The joint probability of sea water level and wave height is used to assess future hydraulic conditions on the basis of the UK climate projections. Structural resistance degradation of coastal defences such as the crest level settlement of earth sea dykes is also considered in the process of risk analysis and failure probability evaluation. A case study of a typical earth sea dyke section affected by changing environments is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the overtopping failure probability of the earth sea dykes will increase significantly due to changing environments, and appropriate maintenances are needed to reduce the risk of the wave overtopping failure.

As having experienced multi‐stage tectonic magmatic activity, the structure of the lithosphere in the east part of South China is very complicated and the distribution of magma has obvious regularity. In order to study the deep tectonic background of magmatic activity of the different blocks in the east part of South China, this paper made a series of qualitative and quantitative analysis based on the Ji'an‐Fuzhou magnetotelluric sounding profile data crossing the east part of South China. The subsurface dimensionality was analyzed by the Bahr phase decomposition, the geoelectric strike with different frequencies was obtained by the single‐site multifrequency Groom‐Bailey decomposition. Finally, the non‐linear conjugate gradients (NLCG) was used to calculate the 2D resistivity structure in our research area. The electrical structure model shows that there are significant differences between the two blocks‐Wuyi uplift belt and Southeast coastal fold belt. It can be vertically divided into four electrical layers of the high resistivity layer in upper crust, the low resistivity layer in mid‐lower crust, the sub‐high resistivity layer in the lithosphere mantle, the low resistivity in the asthenosphere. In the upper crust, the high resistivity layer of more than 10000 Ωm indicates the distribution of granite whose bottom interface is about 15∼20 km deep. In the mid‐lower crust, the high‐conductivity layer in the Wuyi uplift belt is thin and of small scale. It is associated with the thrust faults. However, in the Southeast coastal fold belt, the high‐conductivity layer is thicker and of larger scale. It is uplifted in a mushroom‐shape. The resistivity in lithosphere mantle gradually reduces from inland to coast. Due to the limited detecting depth, the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB) doesn't show in the Wuyi uplift belt which indicates the depth of the LAB is more than 100 km. In the Southeast coastal fold belt, the thickness of the lithosphere is reduced to 60 km, and the asthenosphere has an uplift tendency. In the east part of South China, there are a series of discontinuous high‐conductivity layers of different scales in the crust. The scale and burial depth of the high‐conductivity layers are closely related to the deep tectonic environment and fault distribution. Combining with gravity and magnetic results, we discussed the formation mechanism of high‐conductivity layer. It is inferred that the high‐conductivity layer in the crust of the Southeast coastal fold belt is the result of partial melting by asthenosphere upwelling and basaltic magma underplating. While the high‐conductivity layer in the Wuyi uplift belt is the result of incomplete condensation of the magma chamber after crust material remelting in the early compression environment, and the continuous heating from the deep heat flow in an extensional environment. The lithosphere structure in the east part of South China has a marked zoning, and the high‐conductivity layers with different causes are widespread within the crust. It shows that the magmatic activities in different tectonic units in the east part of South China have different diagenetic tectonic background. In the Southeast coastal fold belt, the deep lithospheric thermal erosion is active, and the lithosphere structure and material are strongly remoulded. The asthenosphere upwelling and the basaltic magma underplating caused the thinning of lithosphere. In the Wuyi uplift belt, the tectonic features of the intra‐continental deformation pattern during the Indo‐early Yanshanian period are recorded clearly, while the late Mesozoic extension tectonics has transformed the lithosphere material to some degree.

With the slope unstable rock masses of a stope in Longsi mine, Jiaozuo City, China as the target, we computed and analyzed the stability of unstable rock masses using a limit equilibrium method (LEM) and a discrete element strength reduction method (SRM). Results show that the unstable rock masses are currently stable. Under the external actions of natural weathering, rainfall and earthquake, unstable rock mass 1 was manifested as a shear slip failure mode, and its stability was controlled jointly by bedding-plane and posterior-margin steep inclined joints. In comparison, unstable rock mass 2 was manifested as a tensile-crack toppling failure mode, and its stability was controlled by the perforation of posterior-margin joints. From the results of the 2 methods we find the safety factor determined from SRM is larger, but not significantly, than that from LEM, and SRM can simulate the progressive failure process of unstable rock masses. SRM also provides information about forces and deformation (e.g. stress-strain, and displacement) and more efficiently visualizes the parts at the slope that are susceptible to instability, suggesting SRM can be used as a supplementation of LEM.

In lifecycle management of corrosion affected reinforced concrete structures, it is difficult to correctly assess lifecycle performance due to the uncertainties associated with structural resistance deterioration. This paper presents a stochastic deterioration modelling approach to evaluate the performance deterioration of corroded concrete structures during their service life. The flexural strength deterioration is analytically predicted on the basis of bond strength evolution due to reinforcement corrosion, which is examined by the experimental data available. An assessment criterion is defined to evaluate the flexural strength deterioration for the time-dependent reliability analysis. The results from the numerical example show that the proposed approach is capable of evaluating the structural deterioration and lifecycle performance of the concrete structures suffering from reinforcement corrosion.

The safety of complex spatial structures in operation depends highly on the reliability of the whole system and its structural components. In order to determine the relationship between system reliability and reliability of its components, reliability block diagram (RBD) method, which emphasises depicting the connection mode among all the components of a system, is employed for system reliability analysis of spatial structures. With the assumption of geometric stability, a new approach, aiming at finding out key elements where damage could lead to overall collapse of the structure, is adopted here for the logic relationship identification among components. The logic relationship, which is considered as the core component of the reliability block diagram, is utilised for reliability analysis of the system and the predetermined components. Finally, a large-span latticed grid spatial structure is investigated to validate the applicability of the RBD method for analysing the system reliability of spatial structures.

Accurate quantification of target metabolites, such as organic acid metabolites, in complex natural tobacco samples is a difficult task in metabolic profiling analysis because of the large amount of interferences present in the matrix. Chromatographic peaks of analytes are always overlapped by interferences, although the separation capability of chromatography is optimally enhanced. In this work, the chemometric strategy of second-order calibration of multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares was employed in combination with gas chromatography-mass selective detection for metabolic profiling analysis to quantify 11 secondary acid metabolites, regardless of interference. The results indicated that the instrumental separation capability can be further improved using a mathematical separation strategy. Chromatographic profiles of analytes can be satisfactorily retrieved from overlapped chromatographic peaks and accurate quantitative results can be obtained. Finally, tobacco samples collected from Henan and Yunnan provinces were successfully grouped based on the obtained quantitative results.

The polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hollow fiber membranes were prepared through a cold pressing method including paste extruding, stretching and sintering in this study. Membrane vacuum regeneration technology (MVR) was developed as a novel regeneration technology for regeneration of the absorbent. The membrane structures of the PTFE hollow fiber membranes were investigated. The mixture of N-methyldiethanolamine and piperazine was selected as the absorbent. The PTFE hollow fiber membranes were used for regeneration through vacuum membrane regeneration technology. The CO2 regeneration flux and regeneration ratio increased with the increase of the regeneration temperature and the CO2 loading. The regeneration pressure was negative to the regeneration flux and regeneration ratio. When the flow rate of the rich solution increased, the regeneration ratio decreased and CO2 regeneration flux increased significantly.

To observe the efficacy and safety of bloodletting and cupping for cervical radiculopathy. The randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in five centers. A total of 183 eligible subjects were randomly allocated into a bloodletting group (n=68), an acupuncture group (n=56) and a combined group (n=59). Patients in the bloodletting group were treated with bloodletting at Dazhui (GV 14) and Jianjing (GB 21) on the affected side, coupled with 5–10 min of cupping, 5 mL blood for each cup, 2–3 cups for one treatment. Patients in the acupuncture group were treated with needling cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2) points and Jianjing (GB 21) on the affected side. The needles were retained for 30 min. Patients in the combined group were treated with both methods. The treatment in all three groups were done once every three days, twice a week, 4 weeks for a course of treatment, for a total of 1–3 courses. Then the therapeutic efficacy was evaluated using scores of visual analogue scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDL) and clinical assessment scale (CAS) before treatment and after 1, 2 and 3 courses of treatment. The scores of VAS, NDI and CAS in all three groups were significantly decreased after 1, 2 and 3 courses of treatment (all P<0.001), and there were no inter-group statistical significances in comparing scores of VAS, NDI and CAS (all P>0.05). Bloodletting and cupping share the similar effect with acupuncture in pain relief and improvement of quality of life in patients with cervical radiculopathy. 观察刺络疗法治疗神经根型颈椎病(cervical spondylotic radiculopathy, CSR)的有效性及安全性。 采用五个中心、随机、对照的方法, 将183 名符合纳入标准的受试者按随机数字表分为刺络组(68 例)、针刺组(56 例)及刺络加针刺组(59 例)。刺络组患者接受在大椎、患侧肩井刺络放血并拔火罐治疗, 留罐5–10 min, 出血量每罐5 mL, 共2–3 罐。针刺组患者接受在双侧C3-7夹脊穴、患侧肩井针刺治疗, 留针30 min。刺络加针刺组患者接受与刺络组相同的刺络治疗和与针刺组相同的针刺治疗。三组均3 日治疗1 次,每星期治疗2 次, 治疗4星期为1 疗程, 治疗1–3 疗程。采用视觉模拟量表(visual analogue scale, VAS)、颈部功能障碍指数(neck disabilityindex, NDI)和临床评价量表(clinical assessment scale, CAS)评分于治疗前及治疗1、2、3 疗程后, 对各组进行疗效评价。 三组治疗1、2、3 个疗程后VAS、NDI、CAS 评分均较本组治疗前有明显下降(均P<0.001), 三组组间VAS、NDI 及CAS 评分比较, 无统计学差异(均P>0.05)。 刺络疗法治疗CSR 可有效缓解患者疼痛并改善其生活质量, 与针刺疗法具有同样治疗作用。

A local adaptive neighborhood model is proposed in this paper in order to deal with the mistake judgment in the existing scanning beam point cloud denoising algorithms. Such a model regards larger curvatures as the potential noises, can select angle thresholds of noise points and the median values of filtering windows adaptively, so as address the issues of mistake judgment and missing judgment of the point clouds denoising algorithms with different curvatures. The adaption theory in the angle threshold denoising algorithm classifies the noise points and data points. Therefore, it can ensure the smoothness in low frequency, and as well keep the high frequency characteristics. The new method improves the accuracy of median filtering, prevents the diffusion of noise, remove noises effectively while preserving sharp features, and avoid fuzzy data margin.

Meteor burst communication is an important communication mode for a number of possible civilian and military applications. This paper proposes a channel modeling and simulation based on OPNET for meteor burst communications. Analyzing the characteristics of underdense meteor burst channel, the multi-layer node models of master station and slave station are presented to create practical simulation scenario of meteor burst communications. The simulation processes of half-duplex communication as well as full-duplex communication are designed to execute simulation. The results demonstrated that the channel model based on OPNET is consisted with meteor burst communication very well, and full-duplex communication is better than full-duplex communication in effectiveness.

Research progress on nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels was expounded through the development of steel grades. In addition, hot topics in the research of nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels were discussed, including the solubility of nitrogen, brittle-ductile transition, and welding. On this basis, it was proposed that the future development tendency of nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels lied in the three fields of high-performance steels, resource-saving steels, and biologically friendly steels. The problems encountered during the research of nitrogen-alloyed austenitic stainless steels were discussed.

Bedding-controlled caves, characterized by rapid weathering of soft intercalated rock layers, are a type of negative landform widely distributed in the Danxia landform area. Based on field investigations, three typical bedding caves were selected as case studies. This study involved field survey of the development conditions and weathering features, followed by collection of rock samples, rainwater and ground water samples for further laboratory tests. Soft interlaid rocks between layers generally belong to silty mudstones with high contents of clay minerals and argillaceous cements. Due to their strong absorbability, high porosity and low compressive strength, these soft rocks are vulnerable to weathering and easily broken into smaller pieces. The overlying and underlying rock layers are more resistant sandstones or sandy conglomerates, with large particles, cemented mainly by calcite and iron oxides, low porosity and higher compressive strength. The weathering pattern and development process of Danxia bedding caves is described as occurring in the following stages: exposure of soft interlaid rock layers – formation of microcracks – expansion of microcracks and exfoliation of rock fragments – continuous weathering and recession of soft interlaid rock layers – formation of initial caves – enlargement of caves – destabilization and collapse of overlying rock – cliff retreat.

Named by Chinese geologists, Danxia landforms refer to an erosional landscape developed on red beds, characterized by scarp slopes. Owing to their outstanding landscape and scientific value, Danxia landforms have been studied in China for more than 80 years. However, they are still poorly known outside China. Primary literature has been used to summarize the essential characteristics, the classification system, distribution, and development mechanism of Danxia landforms. The study reveals a research history from early description and classification of features, to the development of process explanation based on data analysis. In addition, a new research agenda is promoted in which experimental and quantitative research methods gain prominence, while international comparative studies on Danxia landforms are also encouraged.

This paper presents a new method of braking control related to the brushless DC Motor control industrial sewing machine system by analyzing the braking method of brushless DC Motor and the characteristics of control method concerning industrial sewing machines system. With the RENESAS SH7125 MCU as the core controlling, this paper analyzes from the both aspects of speed regulation and braking control, adopts oscillating circuit frequency input method for frequency control, reversing locking brake by detecting needle position signal. Practice proves that the method has achieved good effect, met the control requirements of the industrial sewing machine system.

Due to the large and medium-sized cities in our country is more; the urban rail speed is low and the environmental protection high capacity requirements. Each city urban rail structures more or less differences. Especially fastener system is various, even in the same line also exist different deduction system; Because the subway in China fastener system is various and not a fixed is widely used fastener system; The paper gives a simple summary of subway common shock absorber fasteners in China. I hope it can give a reference to researchers on fasteners.

For the high-speed machining aero engine casing hole, according to the principle of metal forming and the characteristic of metal cutting plane strain, with selecting some key physical factors of the cutter - chip contact friction and abrasion model, the Cartesian orthogonal cutting model of aero engine casing hole was established by using the Deform, a sort of finite element analysis software. With taking cutting temperature for preferred aim of the cutting parameters, select the appropriate cutting parameters, the aim of aero-engine casing high-speed (cutting speed up to 700m/min) cutting has been achieved by simulation, and the feasibility of the cutting process was researched and confirmed in theoretically by analyzing the cutting force, cutting temperature and tool wear condition.

According to the comprehensive performance of electric glass regulator detection process, the installation screw hole of the glass regulator often was damaged when electric glass regulator was installed, so the flexible clamping mechanism of floating force was is designed, to fix and clamp the electric glass regulator, and all flexible clamping mechanism was emulated and analyzed, the results show that the flexible clamping mechanism is safe and reliable, so the theoretical basis was provided to optimize and design the online comprehensive performance equipment in the further.

According to the mechanization of the Kalman filter, the processing load of implementing a Kalman filter can be different under various system propagation rates and measurement update rates. With the definitions of uniform and complete observability, uniform and complete controllability, an analytic method of evaluating the effects of various system propagation rates and measurement update rates on the azimuth error during stationary north-finding was proposed. Variance calculations and experimental tests were presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed analytic method and let analysts maintain good physical insight into the estimation behavior of the final azimuth error. In conclusion, the proposed analytic method will help analysts optimize system propagation rate and measurement update rate to make the computational load fall within the available processing capacity.

Based on the theories of the method of the finite element and the interaction between beam and rail, the common railway bridge: the continuous girder bridge and the simply supported girder bridge as an example, set up the integration of the calculation model of the line-bridge-pier on the continuous welded railway bridge, through the calculation software of Bridge Continuously Welded Rail (BCWR2010), the regular pattern of the effect of the bending force and the regular pattern of the longitudinal displacement distribution of the rail and bridge are analyzed.

Cylindrical TiO2 nanotubes and hexagonal TiO2 nanotubes were obtained in the anodizing process of titanium in fluoride-containing electrolyte. Based on the experimental findings and viscous flow model, a mechanism of self-ordering process of hexagonal cells arrangement for porous anodic TiO2 nanotubes (PATNT) is proposed in this paper. The analysis results show that oxygen evolution in the pore bottoms plays an important role in the self-ordering process. Oxide grows around the oxygen bubbles in the pore bottoms, which results in the formation of cylindrical TiO2 nanotubes. Volume expansion of TiO2 takes place during the anodizing process. Plastic deformation and repulsive force caused by volume expansion are responsible for self-ordering process of PATNT hexagonal cells.

Volcanic lithology and lithofacies are important factors to control the formation of volcanic reservoir. It is a challenge for geologists and petrophysicist to identify lithofacies in the borehole by using well logs. According to the reservoir characters of Daqing volcanic reservoir in Songliao basin, five lithofacies and fifteen su-facies have been recognized through the drilled core analysis of lithology, texture and structure. The relationship between conventional well logs and volcanic lithology can be established by calibrating with core analysis which can be used to identify the rock composition by the established cross-plots. From the FMI measurement, the differences of resistivity values caused by volcanic rock texture and structure can be showed in the image clearly. It shows that four kinds of textures and five kinds of structure can be identified with FMI image. As the volcanic lithofacies marks, specific volcanics lithology, texture and structure corresponds to the specific lithofacies and sub-facies. So lithofacies distribution can be evaluated effectively with the model of volcanics texture and structure combined with rock composition. The results of study indicate that the composition, texture and structure characteristics of the volcanics can be identified by conventional log with FMI measurement, which is important to the further volcanic reservoir exploration and production.

The bond between concrete and steel is the critical element of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, which directly affects their load carrying capacity and serviceability. Hence the evaluation of bond strength degradation is an essential parameter to predict the residual strength of RC structures affected by reinforcement corrosion. Existing research studies in this field mainly focus on numerical and experimental investigations. Few attempts have been made using analytical approach but there is still a need of reliable model which considers the critical mechanical factors affecting the bond strength of corroded RC structures. This paper presents a simple and realistic analytical model of bond strength degradation by using fracture mechanics combining the action of adhesion, confining pressure and corrosion pressure at steel concrete interface. Finally, the results obtained from the proposed model are examined with published experimental data. The study demonstrates that the proposed analytical model agrees with the experimental data of existing investigations.

This paper proposes a symptom-based reliability analysis method for deteriorating reinforced concrete (RC) structures on the basis of monitored data. The structural flexural resistance due to reinforcement corrosion is selected as a symptom which reflects the deteriorating structural performance. The symptom reliability and remaining service life are then estimated from the Weibull model for the structural flexural resistance development. The results for the numerical study example show the proposed approach is capable of prediction the remaining service life for the deteriorating RC structures subjected to the reinforcement corrosion.