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This paper presents a traffic flow control scheme of connected vehicles to stabilize a traffic system with on-ramps from a macromodel point of view. Firstly, this paper establishes a lattice hydrodynamic model with on-ramps, and an output feedback controller is designed based on the characteristics of connected vehicles. Then, by using the Lyapunov-Krasovskill functional analysis method, this paper studies the delay-dependent convergence conditions of the control method. String stability is defined as the nonamplification of the downstream disturbance of a traffic flow when it propagates upstream. The influence of the on-ramps is regarded as a stochastic disturbance in this paper. Through a theoretical analysis, the control conditions that can ensure the string stability of the traffic system under the influence of on-ramp are obtained. Finally, numerical experiments are carried out to compare the traffic states of the traffic system with and without control. The results show that the proposed control can effectively suppress the instability of the traffic system., Author(s): Yicai Zhang [1,2]; Min Zhao (corresponding author) [1,2]; Dihua Sun [1,2]; Hang Zhao [1,2]; Zhongcheng Liu [1,2]; Dong Chen [3] 1. Introduction With the rapid economic development and accelerating [...]

Previously, our study showed that HMGB1 was significantly elevated in the blood and located in the glomerular endothelium in LN patients. But whether extracellular HMGB1 is involved in the injury of glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) in LN still needs further investigation. Firstly, we detected the levels of SDC-1, VCAM-1, and proteinuria in LN patients and MRL/lpr mice and analyzed their correlations. Then, HMGB1 and TLR4/MyD88 were inhibited to observe the shedding of glycocalyx and injury of GECs in vivo and in vitro. Our results showed that HRGEC injury and SDC-1 shedding played an important role in the increase of permeability and proteinuria formation in LN. Additionally, inhibition of extracellular HMGB1 and/or downstream TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB/p65 signaling pathway also alleviated GEC monolayer permeability, reduced the shedding of the glomerular endothelial glycocalyx, improved the intercellular tight junction and cytoskeletal arrangement, and downregulated the NO level and VCAM-1 expression. These results suggested that extracellular HMGB1 might involve in GEC injury by activating the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway in LN, which provided novel insights and potential therapeutic target for the treatment of lupus nephritis.

Summary: In this study, we synthesized a bimetal hydroxyl fluoride, Co0.6Zn0.4(OH)F, with an overlapping nanoneedle structure using a simple hydrothermal method. The synthesized Co0.6Zn0.4(OH)F was used as a new electrode material to study its electrochemical performance. Because of the synergy between Co and Zn and the high ionicity of fluorides, the Co0.6Zn0.4(OH)F electrode exhibited a discharge capacity of 1355.5 mAh g−1 during the first charging and discharging cycle. After 400 cycles at a current density of 2 A g−1, the Co0.6Zn0.4(OH)F electrode showed an excellent specific capacity of 756 mAh g−1. The Co0.6Zn0.4(OH)F electrode also exhibited an excellent capacitance contribution rate, indicating good rate performance. In addition, the hydroxyl and oxygen vacancies in the electrode material promoted the lithium/dilithium reactions. Therefore, Co0.6Zn0.4(OH)F is an excellent lithium storage material with high rate; thus, it has a certain potential application value in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Many fruits and herbs had been used in Traditional Chinese Medicines for treating diabetes mellitus (DM); however, scientific and accurate evidences regarding their efficacy and possible mechanisms were largely unknown. Sanbai melon seed oil (SMSO) was used in folk medicine in treating DM, but there is no literature about these effects. The present study was aimed at confirming the treatment effects of SMSO in type 1 DM. Methods. Diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at a dose of 65 mg/kg body weight. After diabetes induction, mice were treated with SMSO at dose of 1 g/kg, 2 g/kg, and 4 g/kg. Drugs were given by gavage administration once a day continuously for 28 days. At the end of treatment, several biochemical parameters and molecular mechanisms were determined by biochemical assays, ELISA, and Western blotting. The chemical compositions of SMSO were also tested. Results. SMSO treatment significantly improved the symptoms of weight loss, polydipsia, reduced FBG level, increased plasma insulin levels, reduced plasma lipids levels, and protected islet injury. The results also showed that SMSO mitigated oxidative stress and alleviated the liver and renal injury in diabetes mice. SMSO also protected islet cells from apoptotic damage by suppressing ER mediated and mitochondrial dependent apoptotic pathways. Further constituent analysis results showed that SMSO had rich natural resources which had beneficial effects on DM. Conclusions. This study showed that SMSO had excellent antidiabetes effect and provided scientific basis for the use of SMSO as the functional ingredients production and dietary supplements production in the food and pharmaceutical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a Chinese traditional patent medicine, Tripterygium wilfordii glycosides (TWG) have been approved by the China State Food and Drug Administration (Z32021007) for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Application of TWG leads to significant decrease of the inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. However, little is known whether TWG could regulate the anti-inflammatory cytokines and what the mechanism is. Here, we found that TWG could induce the upregulation of IL-37 which is a new anti-inflammatory cytokine. Furthermore, the inhibitors of ERK1/2 and/or p38 MAPK pathways suppressed IL-37 expression induced by TWG, indicating that the two pathways took part in this process. In conclusion, TWG could upregulate the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37 and ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK signal pathways were involved in the upregulation of IL-37 induced by TWG. The results showed that TWG had a potent activity on promoting the expression of IL-37, a new anti-inflammatory cytokine, which help further understanding the anti-inflammatory mechanism for the clinical application of TWG in therapy of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]