Search

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a significant role in post-translational modifications of proteins, yet the importance of lncRNAs for SUMOylation is unknown. rhabdomyosarcoma 2 associated transcript (RMST) expression in glioma tissues and normal brain tissues was measured by quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization. The functional roles of RMST in astrocytomas were demonstrated by a series of in vitro experiments. The potential mechanisms of RMST for SUMOylation were investigated by RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA pull-down, western blotting, and coimmunoprecipitation assays. We first demonstrated the oncogenic activity of lncRNA RMST by inhibiting glioma cells mitophagy. We also first determined that RMST is an enhancer of FUS SUMOylation, especially boosting SUMO1 modification at K333. SUMOylation induced by RMST contributes to the interaction between FUS and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D (hnRNPD) and stabilized their expression and cells mitophagy. Importantly, lncRNA RMST could serve as a promising prognostic factor for glioma patients. Our results demonstrated a previously unknown function of lncRNAs worked as an enhancer in FUS SUMOylation, and RMST will be a significant guide for the development of medications targeting gliomas. Keywords: lncRNA, SUMOylation, oncogene, GBM

Symmetrical solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) adopting the same material at both electrodes is potentially capable of promoting thermomechanical compatibility between near components and lowering stack costs. In this paper, MnCr2O4–Gd0.1Ce0.9O2-δ (MCO-GDC) composite electrodes prepared by co-infiltration method for symmetrical electrolyte supported and anode supported solid oxide fuel cells are evaluated at a temperature range of 650–800 °C in wet (3% H2O) hydrogen and air atmospheres. Without any alkaline earth elements and cobalt, the co-infiltrated MCO-GDC composite electrode shows excellent activity for oxygen reduction reaction but mediocre activity for hydrogen oxidation reaction. With MCO-GDC as the cathode, the Ni-YSZ (Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2) anode supported asymmetrical cell demonstrates a peak power density of 665 mW cm−2 at 800 °C. The above results suggest MCO-GDC is a promising candidate cathode material for solid oxide fuel cells.

A simple and green method to functionalize carbon fiber (CF) with hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HTHBP) synthesized directly through one-pot condensation polycondensation between isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (TOAM) was reported. The covalent grafting of HTHBP on the CF surface can greatly increase the polar functional groups, roughness and wettability of CF surface, thereby resulting to significant enhancement of interfacial properties of composites. After grafting, the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and impact strength of CFs/epoxy composites increased from 58.6 to 81.8 MPa, 48.8 to 87.8 MPa and 55.7 to 76.9 kJ·m−2, respectively. Furthermore, this surface functionalization process could remedy the single fiber tensile strength. The interfacial reinforcing mechanism was also revealed by analyzing interfacial microstructure. This research provided a thought that constructing a continuous gradient modulus interphase layer with strong physicochemical interaction and good wettability by a simple and green method, which could reinforce the interfacial performance and have a bright prospect application in high-performance composite.

Nowadays, traditional human–machine interface has been converted into digital human–computer interface in most industrial control rooms, then, cognitive process and reliability are also bound to be different from traditional human–machine interface. Aiming at the situation, the authors in this paper propose a cognitive reliability model with influencing factors based on Bayesian network. Taking a nuclear power plant (Npp) as research background, taking simulative experiment as study way, parameter values in cognitive reliability mathematical model are obtained by analyzing much experimental data. The proposed model is reasonable, accurate, sensitive and convergent by analyzing experiment data. Cognitive error probabilities of some tasks regarding a hot transmission system (HTS) leak accident in a Npp are obtained according to the proposed model and simulative experiments. The model provides a simple and feasible approach to analyze cognitive reliability of operating process in digital human–computer interface.

To make comprehensive assessment on sustainability of microalgae biofuel production process integrated with nutrient close-loop pathways, Emergy Analysis methodology was adopted based on case studies: microalgae biodiesel production integrated with Nutrient Recycling Pathway in Case A and microalgae biodiesel production integrated with Protein Production as By-Product Pathway in Case B. Emergy results show that microalgae biodiesel system integrated with Nutrient Recycling Pathway is more sustainable, and factor analysis shows that water source with higher unit emergy value and electricity with lower one are more favorable to improve sustainability performance of the integrated process. Besides, different generations of biofuel are also assessed by Emergy Analysis method, and the third-generation biodiesel shows the most sustainable potentials than the previous.

Microalgae cultivating in wastewater enabling nutrient uptake for biomass and biofuel generation is regarded as a promising pathway to increase sustainability of microalgae biofuel production process. A source-separated nutrient organization approach for the process of wastewater-based microalgae biofuel is proposed in this study. Comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) method and Techno-economic analysis (TEA) approach are employed to assess sustainability and economic performance of the proposed nutrient approach. Two scenarios are used to validate our study. Scenario 1 is based on the source-separated nutrient delivery approach with microalgae integrated wastewater in tertiary treatment. Scenario 2 is based on non-separated-point nutrient delivery policy and microalgae integrated with secondary wastewater treatment. The results show that the source-separated nutrient approach is effective for reducing the environmental impacts and increasing commercial potential of microalgae biofuel.

In mimic physiological conditions, the binding sites and mechanism of cinnamic acid(CA) with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) were investigated using UV absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy combined with ethidium bromide (EB) fluorescent probe, resonance light scattering (RLS), circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), salt effect, melting point (Tm) experiments and molecular simulation. The results indicate CA may aggregate at the binding sites of ctDNA to form a supramolecularsystem, and can effectively quench the fluorescence of EB-ctDNA system, increase Tm of ctDNA by 6 ℃. The thermodynamic parameters, the binding constant and number of binding sites for CA and ctDNA were calculated in detail. The results of SERS and molecular docking further indicate that the benzene ring and the non-hydroxyl structure of acrylic acid in the CA molecule intercalate between GA base pairs and TC base pairs in the small groove region of ctDNA, respectively, and the hydroxyl structure in the CA molecule stretches outside of ctDNA double helix. This study contributes to the understanding of the interaction mechanism between CA and DNA at the molecular level.

The temperature difference between indoor and outdoor could cause the formation of droplet on lens. A kind of new fog-proof technology is presented in this paper. Hydrophilic structures are patterned on the surface of lens by means of direct laser interference lithography. The contact angle (CA) and the morphology of the structure are observed under CA meter and optical microscope respectively. The results show that with the power of 49.1 W, the incident angle of 9°, and the exposure times of 2, the structure with period of 30.7 μm could be produced on the surface. What’s more, the CA meter shows that the produced structure could change the CA from 78° which is intrinsic to 58°.

This is the second in a series of papers describing the optimal design method for a digital human-computer interface of nuclear power plant (Npp) from three different points based on human reliability. The purpose of this series is to explore different optimization methods from varying perspectives. This present paper mainly discusses the optimal design method for quantity of components of the same factor. In monitoring process, quantity of components has brought heavy burden to operators, thus, human errors are easily triggered. To solve the problem, the authors propose an optimization process, a quick convergence search method and an affinity error probability mapping function. Two balanceable parameter values of the affinity error probability function are obtained by experiments. The experimental results show that the affinity error probability mapping function about human-computer interface has very good sensitivity and stability, and that quick convergence search method for fuzzy segments divided by component quantity has better performance than general algorithm.

In this paper, a distributed optimal active and reactive power control (DARPC) strategy based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is proposed for wind farms (WFs). The WFs operate in a distributed manner to minimize the network power loss, voltage deviations of buses from the rated voltage, and active power output deviations of WTs from their proportional distribution (PD)-based power reference. An optimization problem is formulated as a quadratic programming (QP) problem by using the linearized DistFlow model. The ADMM-based solution is used to decompose the centralized optimization problem to several subproblems which are solved in individual local controllers with exchanged information from their practical neighbor controllers. Compared with existing distributed/hierarchical optimal control, the impacts of the active power injection from the WTs are taken into consideration and optimized while meeting the dispatch command from the transmission system operator (TSO). The ADMM-based distributed solution eliminates the requirement of a central unit. Compared with conventional centralized optimal control, the scalability of the WFs is improved. A WF consisting of 20 WTs is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink to test the control effectiveness of the proposed DARPC strategy.

The additive manufacturing technology can be used to manufacture the complex lattice structures that are difficult to be fabricated by the traditional manufacturing technologies. In order to study the fracture and failure behavior of Ti6Al4V lattice structures manufactured by selective laser melting under compressive load, the cell topologies of face centered cubic with vertical struts (FCCZ) and body centered cubic with vertical struts (BCCZ) were chosen. The bulk material samples and four kinds of FCCZ and BCCZ lattice samples were designed and manufactured. The compression tests were performed and progressive failure modes were studied and compared. And stress–strain curves, the compressive strength, the effective elastic modulus, and the specific compressive strength were calculated and compared. It is shown that the compressive strength of FCCZ samples is about 30% higher than that of BCCZ samples. Both 30 mm and 50 mm FCCZ samples exhibit abrupt shear failure, while the local buckling of lattice cells is the major failure mode for both 30 mm and 50 mm high BCCZ samples. Finite element analysis was conducted to study progressive damage of the lattice samples, and the numerical results can explain the experimental findings.

This is the last in a series of papers describing the optimal design for a digital human–computer interface of a nuclear power plant (NPP) from three different points based on human reliability. The purpose of this series is to propose different optimization methods from varying perspectives to decrease human factor events that arise from the defects of a human–computer interface. The present paper mainly solves the optimization method as to how to effectively layout interface tasks into different screens. The purpose of this paper is to decrease human errors by reducing the distance that an operator moves among different screens in each operation. In order to resolve the problem, the authors propose an optimization process of interface task layout for digital human–computer interface of a NPP. As to how to automatically layout each interface task into one of screens in each operation, the paper presents a shortest moving path optimization algorithm with dynamic flag based on human reliability. To test the algorithm performance, the evaluation method uses neural network based on human reliability. The less the human error probabilities are, the better the interface task layouts among different screens are. Thus, by analyzing the performance of each interface task layout, the optimization result is obtained. Finally, the optimization layouts of spurious safety injection event interface tasks of the NPP are obtained by an experiment, the proposed methods has a good accuracy and stabilization.

A simple and efficient technique was proposed to yield hyperbranched polyimidazole (HBM) on carbon fiber (CF) surface using isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and imidazole (MZ) as monomers. The introduced HBM dendrimers dramatically ameliorated the polar groups, roughness and wettability on the fiber surface. The mechanical performances (interfacial shear, interlaminar shear and impact strength) of CF-HBM/epoxy composite were significantly improved by 78.7%, 41.1% and 43.4% compared with untreated CF composites, respectively. Furthermore, this in-situ polymerization process on CF surface could be conducive to improve the single fiber tensile strength, the interface failure behavior and reinforcing mechanism were also explored. This work furnishes a simple and efficient strategy to construct an interface layer with strong chemical interaction and high physical entanglement through in-situ synthesis, which would provide enormous potential in preparing high-performing structural composites.

In light of the essential role of typical reinforced PEMs (Gore-SELECT®) in pursuing novel alternatives, we demonstrate for the first time the potent capability of pore-filled semi-crystalline poly (ether ether ketone) membranes that represent by far the most effective polymer materials for methanol blocking of direct methanol fuel cells. The stable structure of poly (ether ether ketone) matrixes contributes to a low swelling behavior so as to restrain the methanol permeation across membranes in high concentration methanol solutions. Porous matrixes are endowed with the ability to conduct protons by an inorganic modifier of phosphotungstate-ionic liquid. In order to improve the interaction of phosphotungstate-ionic liquid and inert matrixes, the porous matrix is pre-modified by a co-deposition reaction of polydopamine and polyethyleneimine. The anchored modifier of polydopamine and polyethyleneimine in the matrix decelerates the leakage of ionic liquid and phosphotungstate. The developed composite membrane performs a heightened proton conductivity up to 0.11 S cm−1 at 80 °C to benefit from the superior proton conductive capacity of the phosphotungstate-ionic liquid, and exhibits extremely low methanol crossover (4.5 × 10−7 cm2 s−1) and favorable selectivity (12.22 × 104 S s cm−3) compared to those of Nafion 117. Especially, an excellent single cell performance with a maximum power density of 107 mW cm−2 is carried out under 10 M methanol at 70 °C.

Mixture of styrene and initiator polymerized in situ in three-dimensional graphene oxide (GO)/carbon nanotube (CNT) aerogel (GOCA) obtained via modified Hummers' method and freeze-drying method to form GOCA/polystyrene (GOCA/PS) nanocomposites. After heating processing, the prepared GOCA/PS nanocomposite sheets exhibited excellent mechanical properties. Results revealed that GOCA was well dispersed and embedded into the PS matrix. When the mass ratio of GO to CNT was 7:3 and the total loading of GOCA was 1.02 wt%, tensile, flexural, compressive, and impact strengths were greatly improved (increased by 64.05%, 54.7%, 107.38%, and 66.5%, respectively, compared with neat PS). Meanwhile, the prepared GOCA/PS nanocomposites presented great microhardness of ~265 MPa and compressive modulus of ~689 MPa. We believe that these effective methods may provide good idea for designing and investigating reinforced composites.

In this paper, a distributed optimal reactive power control (DORPC) scheme is proposed for minimizing the total losses of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind farms (WFs), including the losses of generators, converters, filters, and networks. The DORPC minimizes total WF losses by optimally coordinating reactive power outputs of the DFIG stator and the grid-side converter. The optimal control problem is solved in a distributed manner by using the consensus alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). With the consensus ADMM, the total WF loss optimization problem is transformed into a distributed optimal power flow problem considered with DFIGs’ optimal operation. The optimization problem with local constraints considers the reactive power limit of DFIG-based wind turbines (WTs) and the voltage limits at all WT terminal buses inside the WF. In the DORPC, the optimal control problem is solved by the collector bus station controller and WT controllers in parallel, only with the information exchange between immediate neighbors. It eliminates the need of a central controller and centralized communication, implying better robustness and plug-and-play capability. A WF with 20 DFIG-based WTs was used to validate the proposed DORPC scheme.

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant role in post-translational modifications of proteins, yet the importance of lncRNAs for sumoylation is unknown. Methods: RMST expression in glioma tissues and normal brain tissues was measured by RT-qPCR and in situ hybridization. The functional roles of RMST in astrocytomas were demonstrated by a series of in vitro experiments. The potential mechanisms of RMST for sumoylation was investigated by RNA immunoprecipitation,RNA pull-down, western blotting and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Findings: We first demonstrated the oncogenic activity of lncRNA RMST by inhibiting glioma cells mitophagy. We also first determined that RMST is an enhancer of FUS SUMOylation, especially boosting SUMO1 modification at K333. SUMOylation induced by RMST contributes to the interaction between FUS and hnRNPD and stabilized their expressionand cells mitophagy. Importantly, RMST as a highly expressed RNA in glioma is a better prognostic factor for glioma patients. Interpretation: our results demonstrated a previously unknown function of lncRNAs worked as an enhancer in FUS SUMOylation, and RMST will be a significant guide for the development of medications targeting gliomas. Funding: National Science Foundation of China;National Key Technology Research and Development program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China;111 Project;Graduate Research and Innovation Projects of Central South University. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Ethical Approval: All of the protocols were reviewed and approved by the Joint Ethics Committee of the Central South University Health Authority and performed in accordance with national guidelines. Animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Central South University.

Previous studies proved that the triangular prism would go into galloping branch with high amplitude and low frequency. In order to evaluate the energy conversion capacity, a series experiments of flow induced motion (FIM) for triangular prism with physical springs are conducted in the Reynolds number range of 29,559 ≤ Re ≤ 119,376 by varying load resistance, stiffness, mass ratio and aspect ratio. Selective aspect ratios are applied to enhance the hydrokinetic energy captured by the generator. A physical model is used to control the change of load resistance and spring stiffness for a fast and precise oscillator modeling. The analysis of oscillation responses and energy conversion are carried out based on the statistical evaluation of displacement time-history and voltage signals. The effects of system stiffness, mass ratio, aspect ratio and load resistance on the active power (Pharn) of the triangular prism are presented and discussed. The main conclusions can be summarized as follows: (1) The best branch of the triangular prism energy conversion is galloping branch. (2) In the tests, the maximum active power Pharn = 23.37 W and the corresponding efficiency ηharn = 5.21%. The maximum energy conversion efficiency ηharn = 6.17% with the corresponding active power Pharn = 2.94 W. (3) With the increase of the stiffness (K) and the reduce of the mass ratio (m*), the Pharn rises up. (4) The higher aspect ratio (α) can be easier self-excited to galloping from the vortex induced vibration (VIV) but has a negative influence on the Pharn of the galloping branch.

Direct carbon solid oxide fuel cells (DC-SOFCs) with a liquid Sb anode have many advantages over other types of SOFCs; however, their electrolyte faces corrosion by liquid Sb and Sb 2 O 3 . To evaluate the tolerance of the electrolyte to the liquid Sb and Sb 2 O 3 , 8 mol.% Y 2 O 3 –ZrO 2 electrolyte (YSZ) discs are prepared and evaluated at 750 °C for up to 100 h in both chemical and electrochemical modes, simulating DC-SOFC operating conditions. In the chemical mode, the corrosion by liquid Sb causes Y dissolution from YSZ into the liquid Sb, while the YSZ experiences a phase transformation from cubic to tetragonal structure and grain boundary crack on the surface. Liquid Sb 2 O 3 is more corrosive than liquid Sb, penetrating additionally the grain boundaries into a depth around 15 μm. In the electrochemical mode, liquid Sb is separated from YSZ by a layer (~150 μm) of liquid Sb 2 O 3 formed during cell operation. The liquid Sb 2 O 3 layer so formed corrodes YSZ in the same way as in the chemical mode, but the corrosion is intensified with the presence of a current, resulting in a top porous layer (~15 μm) on YSZ surface with a grain boundary penetration layer (~100 μm) underneath.

The organo-montmorillonite (OMt)/cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber (BR) nanocomposites were prepared by solution intercalation. The structure and properties of the nanocomposites were investigated. The effect of recovered solvent on the conversion of butadiene polymerization was investigated. The results of the XRD and TEM showed that the molecular chains of BR were intercalated into the OMt particles. Compared with the pure BR, the tensile strength of OMt/BR nanocomposites (6 wt.%) increased by 172%. The conversion of butadiene polymerization was higher than 90% by using recovered solvent. The OMt/BR nanocomposites (2 wt.%) had the maximum crosslink density. And the nanocomposites exhibited a higher glass transition temperature and lower tanδ peak value.

The organo-montmorillonite (OMt)/nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) nanocomposites were prepared by emulsion intercalation method. The TEM images of the nanocomposites showed uniform dispersions of the OMt particles in NBR and the XRD patterns confirmed an effective intercalation of NBR in the interlayer space of the OMt. The nanocomposites demonstrated excellent mechanical properties and solvent resistance comparing to those of pure NBR. The TGA curves showed that the temperature of maximum decomposition rate (T max ) of the nanocomposites (30 wt.%) had increased by 10 °C in comparison with that of pure NBR, which indicated that the nanocomposites had excellent thermal stability. The vulcanized curves showed that the OMt could accelerate the vulcanization process. The glass transition temperature, storage modulus, and loss modulus of the nanocomposites have increased, but the tanδ has decreased compared with pure NBR.

Octadecylammonium montmorillonite/natural rubber/cis-1,4-polybutadiene (OMMT/NR/BR) nanocomposites were prepared by direct mechanical blending. The structure of these nanocomposites and the dispersion state of OMMT particles were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The cure characteristics, static mechanical properties, dynamic mechanical properties, and thermal stability were also determined. TEM confirmed that the majority of the OMMT particles was dispersed uniformly in the NR matrix. The XRD patterns revealed that the clay mineral particles were completely exfoliated when the OMMT content was

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) regulate nuclear-cytoplasmic transport, transcription, and genome integrity in eukaryotic cells. However, their functional roles in cancer remain poorly understood. We interrogated the evolutionary transcriptomic landscape of NPC components, nucleoporins (Nups), from primary to advanced metastatic human prostate cancer (PC). Focused loss-of-function genetic screen of top-upregulated Nups in aggressive PC models identified POM121 as a key contributor to PC aggressiveness. Mechanistically, POM121 promoted PC progression by enhancing importin-dependent nuclear transport of key oncogenic (E2F1, MYC) and PC-specific (AR-GATA2) transcription factors, uncovering a pharmacologically targetable axis that, when inhibited, decreased tumor growth, restored standard therapy efficacy, and improved survival in patient-derived pre-clinical models. Our studies molecularly establish a role of NPCs in PC progression and give a rationale for NPC-regulated nuclear import targeting as a therapeutic strategy for lethal PC. These findings may have implications for understanding how NPC deregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of other tumor types.

Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR)/natural rubber (NR)/organo-bentonite nanocomposites were prepared from emulsions. The structure of the nanocomposites was characterized by TEM and XRD. The effect of organo-bentonite on the mechanical properties, thermal stability and swelling behavior was investigated. TEM and XRD confirmed that rubber chains were intercalated into the organo-montmorillonite particles. When the organo-bentonite content was lower than 12 mass%, the nanocomposites showed excellent mechanical properties. The addition of a small amount of OMMT greatly improved thermal stability and swelling behavior, which was attributed to the good barrier properties of the dispersed and partially exfoliated organo-montmorillonite particles. Organo-bentonite addition had little effect on the score and cure times of the nanocomposites, while increased the maximum and minimum torque.

Organo-montmorillonite (OMMT)/fluoroelastomer (FKM) nanocomposites were prepared by melt intercalation. The microstructure of these composites was characterized by TEM and XRD. The effect of OMMT on mechanical properties, thermal stability and solvent resistance of the nanocomposites were investigated. TEM and XRD showed that the FKM was intercalated into OMMT. When the OMMT content was lower than 12 wt.%, the nanocomposites showed excellent tensile properties, which was attributed to the nanometer scale dispersion and the higher aspect ratio of the clay mineral layers. The introduction of a small amount of OMMT also improved the thermal stability and solvent resistance, which was attributed to the gas barrier action of the OMMT layers. Compared to pure FKM, the nanocomposites exhibited a higher glass transition temperature and lower tanδ peak value.

Ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM)/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt extrusion in a twin-screw extruder. The organoclay was characterized by XRD and TGA. As observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the organoclay particles were exfoliated in EPDM. The tensile strength of the nanocomposites increased to 12.3 MPa at the same 3.0 phr amounts of fillers, which was a five-fold increase compared to pure EPDM and 2.8 times compared to the nanocomposite prepared by direction blending; furthermore it was above that of carbon black composites with 15.0 phr. The results of co-reinforcement system exploited a promising application prospect of the organoclay and the nanocomposites. The processability of the terpolymer was improved as a result of the decrease of mooney viscosity; the improvement of the thermal stability of the nanocomposite was determined by TGA.