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Tram operations are often blocked by traffic lights, leading to frequent decelerations and re-accelerations that increase operational energy consumption. This paper focuses on tram energy-efficient control problem incorporating time constraints from traffic lights that have multiple feasible green time windows (GTWs). We formulate the problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP), where binary variables are assigned to model disjunctive time constraints of the GTWs. To address computational challenge of solving the MINLP, we reformulate it as a tractable nonlinear program (NLP). Specifically, an equivalent NLP is first presented by replacing the integrality constraint with nonlinear constraints, and then the nonlinear constraints are relaxed and penalized into cost functions. To recover a solution of the MINLP, we propose a computationally efficient sequential quadratic programming algorithm in a shrinking horizon model predictive control framework, which updates the penalty parameter and quadratic programming subproblems in parallel. The solution obtained from the subproblem is feasible in each iteration, and convergence of the feasibility iterations can be enforced by the updated penalty. The performance of the proposed approach is investigated on different scenarios using real-life tram data. Results show that the method is able to generate energy-efficient driving trajectories in a dynamic environment, while crossing traffic lights in effective GTWs without unnecessary decelerations and re-accelerations. • Binary variables help to model disjunctive green time windows of traffic lights. • The reformulation and relaxation of integrality constraints enhance computational efficiency. • A sequential quadratic programming algorithm for solving mixed-integer nonlinear program. • Traffic uncertainty could increase energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The T-shaped radial spoke (RS) is a protein complex attached to the A microtubule of the outer doublet microtubules, and it extends toward the central pair (CP). It modulates the beat frequency, amplitude, and waveform of the flagella and cilia by serving as a mechanochemical signal transducer between the CP and dyneins. In humans, RS defects cause primary ciliary dyskinesia, but the structural components of triple RSs (RS1, RS2, and RS3) in mammals remain to be elucidated in detail. Here, we introduce a mouse model that lacked the entire RS1 in sperm flagella, due to the deletion of Iqub , while the tracheal cilia possessed intact triple RSs. Furthermore, the absence of IQUB only resulted in male infertility, owing to the sperm motility defect. Based on the mouse model, the RS1 compositions are identified in sperm flagella. In summary, this study elucidates the RS1 components and function in mammalian flagella. [Display omitted] • Identification and characterization of an RS1-specific adaptor, IQUB, in mouse flagella • Identification of the RS1 complex components in mouse flagella • Lack of the RS1 complex results in asthenospermia and male infertility • The RS1 complex assembly is different in the cilia and flagella The radial spoke (RS) is attached to doublet microtubules and modulates movement of flagella/cilia. This study identifies and characterizes a RS1-specific adaptor, IQUB. Via Iqub KO mice, this work identifies the RS1 complex components of mouse flagella. Iqub deletion only affects beating of sperm flagella, but not respiratory cilia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This is an up-to-date assessment of attentional bias to threatening emotional faces in individuals with autism. • Generally, individuals with ASD showed a small but significant attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces. • They showed different characteristics at two stages of attention toward threatening emotional faces. • Individuals with ASD are more likely to avoid threatening emotional faces than to touch them. • Adults with ASD showed a larger attentional bias than children with ASD. Social differences for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could be related to attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces. However, studies investigating this attentional bias in individuals with ASD vary in paradigms and results. We conducted a meta-analysis across different reaction time tasks, including dot-probe, spatial cuing, visual search and emotional Stroop tasks, to examine the attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces in individuals with ASD. Narrative synthesis further summarized possible moderators affecting attentional bias. We used systematic searches to identify 21 empirical studies with 1,805 participants in total (ASD n = 909). Individuals with ASD showed a small but significant attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces over other faces (g = 0.162), which was similar to individuals with typical development (g = 0.203). Moderator analysis showed that adults with ASD showed a larger attentional bias than children with ASD. For the dot-probe and spatial cuing paradigms, attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces was observed when stimuli were presented for less than 500 ms, and bias away from threatening emotional faces was shown when stimuli were presented for over 500 ms. For the visual search paradigm, attentional bias was significant in button-press tasks, but not in touch-screen tasks. Furthermore, attentional bias was only observed when the stimuli were schematic faces and reference materials were happy faces. Individuals with ASD showed a small but significant attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces. Furthermore, significant moderators included stimulus presentation, response type, reference face type, stimulus type, and age. Thus, more research is needed to further explore attentional bias toward threatening emotional faces in individuals with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The purpose of this study was to estimate the fatigue life of premolars restored with two dental ceramics, lithium disilicate (LD) and polymer infiltrated ceramic (PIC) using the numerical method and compare it with the published in vitro data. Methods A premolar restored with full-coverage crown was digitized. The volumetric shape of tooth tissues and crowns were created in Mimics ® . They were transferred to IA-FEMesh for mesh generation and the model was analyzed with Abaqus. By combining the stress distribution results with fatigue stress–life (S–N) approach, the lifetime of restored premolars was predicted. Results The predicted lifetime was 1,231,318 cycles for LD with fatigue load of 1400 N, while the one for PIC was 475,063 cycles with the load of 870 N. The peak value of maximum principal stress occurred at the contact area (LD: 172 MPa and PIC: 96 MPa) and central fossa (LD: 100 MPa and PIC: 64 MPa) for both ceramics which were the most seen failure areas in the experiment. In the adhesive layer, the maximum shear stress was observed at the shoulder area (LD: 53.6 MPa and PIC: 29 MPa). Significance The fatigue life and failure modes of all-ceramic crown determined by the numerical method seem to correlate well with the previous experimental study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Numerous bond strength tests have been performed on dental adhesion experiments. Yet, the validity of these bond strength tests is controversial due to the name ( e.g. , “shear” or “tensile”) may not reflect to the true and complete stress situation, i.e. , assumed uniform shear or uniaxial tensile conditions. Thus, the aim of this study was to simulate and compare the stress distribution of and between shear bond strength (SBS), tensile bond strength (TBS), mold-enclosed shear bond strength (ME-SBS) and de novo lever-induced mold-enclosed shear bond strength (LIME-SBS) tests. Methods 3-Dimensional finite element method (FEM) was used on the dental resin-bonded surfaces ( i.e. , titanium alloy, dentine and porcelain) interphased with adhesive layer (thickness 5 μm) to simulate the mechanical tests. For ME-SBS, both polycarbonate and stainless steel molds were used. For LIME-SBS, stainless steel levers and molds with lengths of 3 mm, 6 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm and 18 mm were used. The applied loads on these models were 50 N, 100 N and 200 N. Results De novo LIME-SBS test was the most optimal configuration to evaluate “shear” bond strength of adhesive in regards to providing significantly high and uniform shear stress as well as eliminating tensile stress at the interface. The conventional SBS test created very high tensile stress at the load area, whereas the TBS created optimal tensile stress but shear stress indeed co-exist. The ME-SBS test could also eliminate some of the tensile stress. Similar stress distributions pattern appeared on the Ti-adhesive models, the dentine-adhesive models and porcelain-adhesive models. Significance None of the bond strength tests could give purely “shear” or “tensile” bond strength, but LIME-SBS seems to be the best model to evaluate the bond strength under true “shear” mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between 16-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging and tumor angiogenesis and cyclin D1 expression in patients with peripheral lung cancer. Fifty-eight patients with peripheral lung cancer underwent 16-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging. The CT perfusion imaging was analyzed for time density curve (TDC), perfusion parametric maps, and the respective perfusion parameters. Correlation between the respective perfusion parameters and immunohistochemical findings of microvessel density measurement and cyclin D1 expression was evaluated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article describes the case of a 19-year-old woman who presented with a 3-month history of intermittent seizure attacks. A large left heterogeneously enhancing tumor located in Broca's area was revealed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It was found that the patient's music function was affected by a tumor that invaded the Broca's area.

Abstract: Regulation of emotion is important for adaptive social functioning and mental well-being. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study identified neural correlates of regulation of positive or negative emotion. Twelve healthy female Chinese participants performed the experimental task that required them to simply view emotional pictures or to regulate their emotions induced by these pictures while their brain activities were monitored by a 1.5T MRI scanner. The neuroimaging findings indicate that the left superior and lateral frontal regions (BA8/9) are common neural correlates of regulation of both emotions. For regulation of positive or negative emotion, changes of BOLD responses in the prefrontal regions and the left insula are associated with regulation of positive emotion; whereas activity of the left orbitofrontal gyrus, the left superior frontal gyrus, and the anterior cingulate gyrus appears to be involved in regulation of negative emotion. According to the participants’ self-report, they appeared to be more effective in regulating positive than negative emotions, which may relate to the distinct patterns of neural activity associated with regulation of the specific emotion. As a conclusion, our findings suggest that there are shared as well as valence-specific neurocognitive mechanisms underlying regulation of positive and negative emotions. Enhanced knowledge about the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation helps improve understanding of the complex interplay of emotion and cognition underlying human behaviors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent studies have reported that dishevelled-associated activator of morphogenesis 1 (DAAM1) is remarkably essential for mediating cell migration and invasion in breast cancer (BrCa). Nonetheless, the definite expression profile of DAAM1 in BrCa patients and the impact on metastasis of BrCa in vivo have not been explored up to now. The differential expression of DAAM1 in BrCa and adjacent tissues was assessed via immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. The metastatic capacities of BrCa SUM-1315 cells were examined in BALB/c nude mice. Besides, the prognostic values of DAAM1 mRNA in BrCa were explored based on Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter. The expression of DAAM1 protein was notably overexpressed in BrCa tissues compared with that in paired normal breast tissues. The high expression of DAAM1 in BrCa tissues was significantly associated with lymph-node metastasis. Furthermore, DAAM1 overexpression promoted the invasive capacity of BrCa cells and stimulated lung metastatic extent in vivo. We also found that overexpressed DAAM1 mRNA was significantly associated with poor relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), distance-metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and post-progression survival (PPS). Our findings reveal that DAAM1 might be a novel therapeutic target to manage the deteriorated metastasis of BrCa and identified DAAM1 as a promising biomarker for unfavorable prognosis in BrCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer (OvCa) has the highest morbidity among all gynecologic cancers worldwide, and its distant metastasis is one of main causes for the poor prognosis of OvCa patients. Our previous studies have reported that DAAM1-involved signaling pathways play vital roles in metastasis of breast cancer. However, whether DAAM1 participates in OvCa migration and/or invasion is still unknown. The impact of DAAM1 on cell migration and invasion in OvCa was evaluated by wound healing assay and Boyden chamber assay. The specific miRNA targeting DAAM1 was predicted by bioinformatics methods and verified by dual-luciferase activity assay. The miR-208a-5p expression levels in OvCa tissues and the impacts of miR-208a-5p on cell migration and invasion were also assessed, respectively. High expression of DAAM1 was associated with distant metastasis in OvCa. Silence of DAAM1 by siRNA blocked the migration and invasion of OVCAR-3 cells. MiR-208a-5p directly targeted DAAM1 and was shown a decreased expression in metastatic OvCa tissues. Elevated expression of miR-208a-5p inhibited the migration and invasion of OVCAR-3 cell which can be rescued by DAAM1 overexpression. Our data suggest that miR-208-5p/DAAM1 axis participates in OvCa migration and invasion and may be a novel clinical target to limit OvCa metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]