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This study aimed to identify possible pathogenic genes in a 90-member family with a rare combination of multiple neurodegenerative disease phenotypes, which has not been depicted by the known neurodegenerative disease. We performed physical and neurological examinations with International Rating Scales to assess signs of ataxia, Parkinsonism, and cognitive function, as well as brain magnetic resonance imaging scans with seven sequences. We searched for co-segregations of abnormal repeat-expansion loci, pathogenic variants in known spinocerebellar ataxia-related genes, and novel rare mutations via whole-genome sequencing and linkage analysis. A rare co-segregating missense mutation in the CARS gene was validated by Sanger sequencing and the aminoacylation activity of mutant CARS was measured by spectrophotometric assay. This pedigree presented novel late-onset core characteristics including cerebellar ataxia, Parkinsonism, and pyramidal signs in all nine affected members. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed cerebellar/pons atrophy, pontine-midline linear hyperintensity, decreased rCBF in the bilateral basal ganglia and cerebellar dentate nucleus, and hypo-intensities of the cerebellar dentate nuclei, basal ganglia, mesencephalic red nuclei, and substantia nigra, all of which suggested neurodegeneration. Whole-genome sequencing identified a novel pathogenic heterozygous mutation (E795V) in the CARS gene, meanwhile, exhibited none of the known repeat-expansions or point mutations in pathogenic genes. Remarkably, this CARS mutation causes a 20% decrease in aminoacylation activity to charge tRNACys with L-cysteine in protein synthesis compared with that of the wild type. All family members carrying a heterozygous mutation CARS (E795V) had the same clinical manifestations and neuropathological changes of Parkinsonism and spinocerebellar-ataxia. These findings identify novel pathogenesis of Parkinsonism-spinocerebellar ataxia and provide insights into its genetic architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From June 2008 to August 2013, approximately 67 kt of CO2 was injected into a deep saline formation at the Ketzin pilot CO2 storage site. During injection, 3D seismic surveys have been performed to monitor the migration of sequestered CO2. Seismic monitoring results are limited by the acquisition and signal-to-noise ratio of the acquired data. The multiphysical reservoir simulation provides information regarding the CO2 fluid behavior, and the approximated model should be calibrated with the monitoring results. In this work, property models are delivered from the multiphysical model during 3D repeated seismic surveys. The simulated seismic data based on the models are compared with the real data, and the results validate the effectiveness of the multiphysical inversion method. Time-lapse analysis shows the trend of CO2 migration during and after injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain often develops severe mood changes such as depression. However, how chronic pain leads to depression remains elusive and the mechanisms determining individuals' responses to depression are largely unexplored. Here we found that depression-like behaviors could only be observed in 67.9% of mice with chronic neuropathic pain, leaving 32.1% of mice with depression resilience. We determined that the spike discharges of the ventral tegmental area (VTA)-projecting lateral habenula (LHb) glutamatergic (Glu) neurons were sequentially increased in sham, resilient and susceptible mice, which consequently inhibited VTA dopaminergic (DA) neurons through a LHbGlu-VTAGABA-VTADA circuit. Furthermore, the LHbGlu-VTADA excitatory inputs were dampened via GABAB receptors in a pre-synaptic manner. Regulation of LHb-VTA pathway largely affected the development of depressive symptoms caused by chronic pain. Our study thus identifies a pivotal role of the LHb-VTA pathway in coupling chronic pain with depression and highlights the activity-dependent contribution of LHbGlu-to-VTADA inhibition in depressive behavioral regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates free water effect on the dynamic tensile properties of mortar. Fully saturated and saturated-then-redried mortar specimens with two porosities, namely common and high-porosity, are prepared and tested under quasi-static and dynamic split-tension states covering strain rates between 1.49e−06s−1 and 5.29s−1. The split-tensile strength and elastic modulus at different strain rates are quantified. Comparing the dynamic increase factor (DIF) for mortar tensile strength, a maximum difference of 1.2 at strain rate 5 s−1 is found between saturated and dried high-porosity mortars revealing the influence of free water. The testing data is compared with other existing data which shows the mortar water effect is more similar to concrete than limestone and sandstone. The high-speed camera images during the dynamic tests are analysed which revealed a water retarding effect on the dynamic split-tension failure process, resulting in an initial crack delay of up to 0.4 ms due to free water. The wave speed for different mortar specimens at different strain rates is analysed, which shows that higher porosity is more sensitive to the water effect. Possible mechanisms leading to this water effect is discussed. Overall, the study provides a quantitative measure of the water enhancing effect on the dynamic tensile strength of mortar and offers insights into the practical use of water in the design and construction of mortar structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, an increasing number of protein mis-localization events have been reported under various conditions. It is important to understand these events and their relationship with complex disorders. Although many efforts had been made in establishing models with statistical or machine learning algorithms, a comprehensive database resource is still missing. Since the records of experimental-validated protein mis-localization events spread across many literatures, a collection of all these reports in a unique website is demanded. In this paper, we created the dbMisLoc database by manually curating conditional protein mis-localization events from various literatures. The dbMisLoc database records the protein localizations, mis-localizations, conditions for mis-localization, and the original reports. The dbMisLoc database allows the users to intuitively view, search, visualize and download protein mis-localization records. The dbMisLoc database integrates a BLAST search engine, which can search mis-localized proteins that are similar to user queries. The dbMisLoc database can be accessed directly through (https://dbml.pufengdu.org). The source code of dbMisLoc database is available from the GitHub repository (https://github.com/quinlanW/dbMisLoc) for free. Users can host their own mirrors of dbMisLoc database on their own servers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the performances of a new type of precast beam-column joint subjected to earthquake and impact loads. For sustainability and durability considerations, new materials such as corrosion-resistant fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bolts and reinforcements, fibre reinforced concrete (FRC), and geopolymer concrete (GPC) were used to construct the joint. To examine the resilience, durability, sustainability, and multi-hazard resistance capacities, both cyclic and pendulum impact tests were carried out. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed precast joints had the comparable or even better performances as compared with the traditional monolithic joints under cyclic and impact loads. Numerical simulations using ABAQUS were also adopted to determine the optimal values of the concrete-end-plate (CEP) thickness for the proposed dry joints and to further quantify other response parameters which could not be obtained during the test, e.g., stress distribution, energy absorption, and stress contours. Discussion on the influences of various parameters on joint performances under different loading conditions was also presented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precast segmental columns are attracting more and more interests in the construction industry due to its many advantages such as minimized on-site construction activities, improved construction quality, and reduced residual displacement after a severe earthquake. In previous studies, precast segmental columns were normally constructed with ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPC) together with steel tendons and rebars. It is well known that the production of OPC significantly contributes to the carbon dioxide emission, and steel is vulnerable to corrosion. It will be ideal if other green and sustainable construction materials can be applied to replace the conventional OPC and steel tendons and rebars. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) which uses industry wastes as binders has been developed as an alternative to the ordinary OPC, and the corrosion resistant Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) can potentially be used to replace the steel tendons and rebars. In this study, GPC and basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) tendons and rebars are used to construct segmental columns, and the seismic performances of the newly proposed segmental columns are examined through shake table tests. Both uniaxial and biaxial ground motions were used as inputs to investigate the effect of the biaxial excitations on the seismic performance of the columns. The test results indicated that the BFRP reinforced GPC segmental column with BFRP tendon had comparable seismic performance to the steel reinforced OPC segmental column with steel tendon under low levels of earthquake excitations, but it failed slightly earlier due to that the BFRP tendon has lower elastic modulus than steel tendon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefabricated construction is attracting increasing interest in recent years, since this construction method has various advantages as compared to the cast-in-situ construction method, such as less construction time, higher quality control and reduced environmental impact. As a typical type of prefabricated structures, precast segmental column (PSC) has been used as the substructure to accelerate the construction speed of bridges. This paper reviews the performances of the PSCs under seismic loadings. In particular, the seismic performances of the PSC itself under cyclic loading and real earthquake ground motions, the seismic behaviours of PSC-supported bridge structures, and the responses of precast rocking column (PRC)-supported bridges, are comprehensively reviewed and their pros and cons are discussed. For the completeness of the paper, the performances of the PSCs under multiple dynamic hazards, namely impact and blast loadings here are also briefly summarized at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the current study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) and 3-(methylthio) propyl isothiocyanate (MTPITC) on Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). The comparison of the antibacterial potential of these two sulfur-containing flavors was performed by examining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Moreover, the relative gene expression levels of the major virulence-related factors in L. monocytogenes with co-incubation with BITC (or MTPITC) were measured using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis. In addition, the biofilm-forming rate of L. monocytogenes upon exposure to the tested two compounds was determined. Finally, the changes in the bacterial morphology in the presence of BITC (or MTPITC) were detected with the assistance of scanning electron microscopy. The antimicrobial potential of BITC in resistance to L. monocytogenes growth was much stronger than that of MTPITC. Both of the sulfur-containing compounds remarkably suppressed the gene expressions of inlA, hlyA, and prfA. Besides, these two flavors were capable of changing the formation rate of L. monocytogenes biofilms, whereas only slight wrinkles were observed in the bacterial morphology. Overall, both BITC and MTPITC might be promising antibacterial agents to prevent and control L. monocytogenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the relationship of bifurcation morphology and aneurysm presence at the major cerebral bifurcations is not clear. This study was to investigate cerebral arterial bifurcation morphology and accompanied hemodynamic stresses associated with cerebral aneurysm presence at major cerebral arterial bifurcations. Cerebral angiographic data of major cerebral artery bifurcations of 554 anterior cerebral arteries, 582 internal carotid arteries, 793 middle cerebral arteries and 195 basilar arteries were used for measurement of arterial diameter, lateral and bifurcation angles and aneurysm deviation. Hemodynamic stresses were analyzed using computational fluid dynamic simulation. Significantly (P < 0.001) more aneurysms deviated toward the smaller branch and the smaller lateral angle than towards the larger branch and larger lateral angle at all four major bifurcations. At the flow direct impinging center, the total pressure was the greatest while the dynamic pressure, wall shear stress (WSS), vorticity and strain rate were the least. Peak 1 and Peak 2 were located on the branch forming a smaller and larger angle with the parent artery, respectively. The dynamic pressure (175.4 ± 18.6 vs. 89.9 ± 7.6 Pa), WSS (28.9 ± 7.4 vs. 15.7 ± 5.3 Pa), vorticity (9874.6 ± 973.4 vs. 7237.8 ± 372.7 1/S), strain rate (9873.1 ± 625.6 vs. 7648.3 ± 472.5 1/S) and distance (1.9 ± 0.8 vs. 1.3 ± 0.3 mm) between the peak site and direct flow impinging center were significantly greater at Peak 1 than at Peak 2 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Moreover, aneurysms deviation and Peak 1 were always on the same side. In conclusion, the branch forming a smaller angle with the parent artery is associated with abnormally enhanced hemodynamic stresses to initiate an aneurysm at the bifurcation apex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technique of air-deck charge has been applied in open-pit blasting for a long time. However, the effects of axial air deck in borehole on blast-induced ground vibrations have not been well investigated. In this study, the influences of axial air deck on blast-induced peak particle velocities (PPVs) are investigated based on field tests and numerical simulations. Five blasting tests with the ratios of top axial air deck (i.e., defined as the air-deck volume in borehole divided by the borehole volume) of 0/16, 1/16, 2/16, 3/16 and 4/16 are implemented in an open-pit mine. PPVs and their attenuation trends corresponding to different air-deck ratios are analyzed and discussed. The test results show increasing air-deck ratios can decrease near-field ground vibrations to some extent. In addition, numerical models with single borehole are built and validated with blasting test results. The influences of air-deck positions, air-deck ratios and air-deck numbers in single borehole on near-field ground PPVs are investigated with the calibrated numerical models. It is found that near-field ground PPVs induced by the top air-deck charge are lower than those induced by the bottom and middle air-deck charges when the air-deck ratio is the same. Meanwhile, the variation of air-deck ratios located at the top of borehole has a greater influence on near-field ground PPVs than that located at the middle and bottom of borehole. With the increase of the number of air-deck layers in one borehole, near-field ground PPVs induced by the top air-deck charge increase, while those induced by the middle and bottom air-deck charges decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidence suggests that benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), derived from cruciferous vegetables, could be an effective antimicrobial compound against a wide range of food-borne bacteria. This research investigated the antimicrobial activity of BITC against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value, observing S. Typhimurium with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and measuring the intra- and extracellular ATP levels. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) was further employed to evaluate the effect of S. Typhimurium at the genetic level. The MIC of BITC against S. Typhimurium was 1 mM. Moreover, BITC could affect the integrity of the cell membrane, inducing a decrease in the intracellular ATP level and an increase in the extracellular ATP level. At subinhibitory concentrations, BITC downregulated the expression levels of the virulence genes hilA, hilC, and hilD in a dose-dependent manner. These findings provide insights into the antimicrobial activity of BITC against S. Typhimurium, revealing its initial potential modes of antibacterial action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A model of the SO2 molecule is first established, then its adsorption on various monolayers is studied by using a first-principles method. The calculation results show that intrinsic WX2 (X = S, Se, Te) exhibits weak adsorption of SO2, corresponding to a physical adsorption mechanism. The adsorption of SO2 on the WX2 systems doped with As and Ge is calculated and compared based on the first-principles method, revealing that the doped WX2 materials exhibit stronger adsorption of SO2. The single-doped Ge/WTe2 shows greater stability when adsorbing gas molecules according to the degree of change in the structure, while its adsorption energy, charge density, band structure, and density-of-states diagrams confirm its enhanced adsorption characteristics for SO2 gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of time-varying physical parameters of nonlinear systems is still a challenging task. Limited studies based on the wavelet multiresolution analysis (WMA) have been attempted, which requires full measurements of structural displacement, velocity and acceleration responses of all degrees of freedom and exact information of external excitations. This limits the engineering application of these methods. This paper proposes approaches to identify the time-varying physical parameters of nonlinear structures in three cases using only partially measured structural responses. Firstly, the identification of time-varying nonlinear structures with a small number of elements under known excitations is discussed. The fading-factor unscented Kalman filter (FUKF) method is applied to locate the time-varying parameters, and the WMA integrated with UKF method is employed using partially measured acceleration responses. Secondly, it is further extended to the identification of time-varying nonlinear structures with a small number of elements but under unknown excitations. An improved fading-factor unscented Kalman filter under unknown input (FUKF-UI) method is proposed to locate the time-varying parameters, and WMA integrated with UKF-UI method is utilized with partially observed acceleration and displacement responses. Thirdly, for practical engineering applications, the identification of time-varying nonlinear structure with more elements under unknown excitations is conducted. The proposed FUKF-UI method is employed to locate the time-varying parameters of the whole structure. Then, the whole structure is divided into several substructures and the unknown interaction forces are regarded as the fictitious unknown inputs to the substructure. Thus, physical parameters of each substructure can be identified in parallel by the combination of WMA and UKF-UI. Three numerical studies corresponding to these three cases are conducted, respectively, to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basalt fiber is more cost-effective than carbon fiber and has superior mechanical and chemical properties than glass fiber. Most existing studies considered the use of micro basalt fibers in concrete matrix to reduce shrinkage and control micro cracks. However, macro fibers are often required to reinforce concrete material when large deformation and macro cracks in structural elements are of concern. Very few studies have been reported for macro Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) fibers to improve mechanical properties of concrete. The geometric characteristics of macro fibers are critical for concrete reinforcement. It is known that macro fibers with smooth surface possess poor bond strength. To enhance the bonding properties between macro BFRP fibers and concrete, in this experimental study, pullout tests on macro BFRP fibers with various geometric forms from different grades of mortar matrix were carried out. Smooth fiber, etched fiber and double-helix fiber were manufactured and evaluated. The effects of embedded length and matrix strength are also investigated through pullout behavior of single BFRP fiber. The variation of etched intervals of etched fibers on bond strength was also taken into account. It was found that the double-helix fiber outperformed other types of fibers in terms of strength utilization ratio and energy absorption capability. An empirical model for interfacial bond-slip relation was proposed based on the test results. Based on results of pullout tests, the outstanding performance of double-helix BFRP fiber was further verified by examining the mechanical properties of normal-strength concrete specimens reinforced with different types of macro BFRP fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hybridization of 1,4-bis(isoquinoline)butane (BIQBT2+) cation with iodobismuthate under different solvents produce two isomers α-[(BIQBT)(BiI4)2]n (α-1, in CH3OH/H2O mixed solvent, Triclinic system with P-1 space group) and β-[(BIQBT)(BiI4)2]n (β-1, in CH3OH, Monoclinic system with P21/c space group). The 1-D (BiI4)nn− chains are constructed from the opposite edge-sharing BiI6 octahedra. The (BIQBT)2+ in α-isomer adopts the planar configuration, and that in β-isomer presents the chair-like configuration, as a result, different packing modes (intercalating quasi-3-D mode for α-1 and interlocking 2-D mode for β-1) are observed. Interestingly, from α-1 to β-1, distortion degree of BiI6 octahedron and π–π stacking interaction decrease, but hydrogen bonds number increase. Consequently, due to different packing mode, photoluminescence/thermochromisms can be found in α-1, but those of β-1 are vanished, Theoretical calculation was conducted to disclose the structure/thermochromism correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular RNA polymerases (RNAPs) can become trapped on DNA or RNA, threatening genome stability and limiting free enzyme pools, but how RNAP recycling into active states is achieved remains elusive. In Bacillus subtilis, the RNAP δ subunit and NTPase HelD have been implicated in RNAP recycling. We structurally analyzed Bacillus subtilis RNAP-δ-HelD complexes. HelD has two long arms: a Gre cleavage factor-like coiled-coil inserts deep into the RNAP secondary channel, dismantling the active site and displacing RNA, while a unique helical protrusion inserts into the main channel, prying the β and β′ subunits apart and, aided by δ, dislodging DNA. RNAP is recycled when, after releasing trapped nucleic acids, HelD dissociates from the enzyme in an ATP-dependent manner. HelD abundance during slow growth and a dimeric (RNAP-δ-HelD)2 structure that resembles hibernating eukaryotic RNAP I suggest that HelD might also modulate active enzyme pools in response to cellular cues.The bacterial helicase-like transcription factor HelD interacts with the RNA polymerase (RNAP) and together with the RNAP δ subunit enhances RNAP cycling. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structures of the monomeric and dimeric Bacillus subtilis RNAP-δ-HelD complexes and suggest a model for HelD/δ-mediated RNAP recycling and putative hibernation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new steel–concrete composite rigid-frame bridge (SCCRFB) with concrete-filled double skin steel tube (CFDST) piers has been verified showing superior seismic performance, and a promising structural solution for bridge constructions near or above active faults. Previous experimental and numerical studies revealed that the damages of this bridge type under across-fault ground motions mainly concentrate on the two CFDST piers. This paper investigates the effectiveness of damage mitigation measures for the SCCRFB with CFDST piers by using numerical simulations. Three detailed three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) bridge models are developed by using the explicit FE code LS-DYNA, in which Model A represents a reference SCCRFB with CFDST piers, and Models B and C employ different stiffeners at the two ends of the CFDST piers aiming to mitigate the damages induced by the effect of across-fault ground movements. Two pairs of across-fault ground motions with thrust and strike-slip mechanisms are considered, and the influence of fling-step is parametrically investigated. Numerical results including structural damages and responses are presented and the damage mechanisms are analyzed. Numerical results indicate that the strengthening measure used in Model C can effectively restrain local buckling of the steel tubes under both types of across-fault ground motions and is a practical option for SCCRFB with CFDST piers to mitigate the potential fault-crossing hazard. This study provides useful references for the seismic design of SCCRFB with CFDST piers crossing active faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, a facile hydrothermal synthesis was successfully used to obtain a novel SubPhthalocyanine/Nickel molybdate (SubPc-Br/NiMoO4) composite electrode material for a higher-performance super-capacitor. SEM and XRD investigations revealed that SubPc-Br particles were uniformly dispersed on the surface of NiMoO4 microspheres and kept the crystal formation of NiMoO4 during the combination of SubPc-Br and NiMoO4, giving the possibility to obtain high power density. The excellent pseudo-capacitance properties of SubPc-Br/NiMoO4 were also confirmed by a series of electrochemical experiments and showed that SubPc-Br significantly enhanced the redox strength and charge transfer characteristics of the NiMoO4. The as-prepared electrode had a high specific capacitance of 1292 F g−1 at a scan rate of 1 mV s−1. Additionally, in comparison with a separate NiMoO4, the cycle stability of the SubPc-Br/NiMoO4 super-capacitor is improved by 12.9% after 1000 cycles. The enhanced performances could be mainly attributed to the unique nanostructure and a larger contact area of SubPc-Br/NiMoO4. The materials obtained using this technique and the unique properties of cycle stability are attractive. This technique has an increased potential to enlarge the applicability of the electrochemical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the template of methyl viologen (MV2+ = methyl viologen) and ethyl viologen (EV2+ = ethyl viologen), two new viologen/iodobismuthate hybrids, (MV)5(Bi2I10)(Bi2I9)2 (1) and (EV)3(Bi4I18) (2) have been structurally determined. The highly interesting feature of 1 lies in its combination of two kinds of dimeric iodobismuthate clusters, i.e. (Bi2I10)4− and (Bi2I9)3− in one lattice induced by MV2+, which are constructed from edge- and face-sharing BiI6 octahedra respectively. But the (Bi4I18)6− tetramer in 2 is based on edge- and vertex-sharing BiI6 octahedra. C–H···I hydrogen bonds contribute to the formation of quasi-3-D networks. The smaller gap of 1 might be led by more versatile C–H···I hydrogen bond interactions due to the presence of mixed type iodobismuthate clusters. Two hybrids display reversible thermochromism behaviors. Theoretical calculation suggests that the terminal iodine is dominated in electron transfer of thermochromisms, rather than bridged iodine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polyacrylate-g-polysiloxane copolymers were prepared by condensation reaction of polyacrylate with polysiloxane. Nine different formulations of marine antifouling coatings based on TiO2 and polyacrylate-g-polysiloxane were fabricated. The coatings had strong adhesion to substrate due to the incorporation of main-chain acrylic moieties. The side-chain Si–O bonds from polysiloxane enable the copolymer to hydrolytically degrade, and provide a self-polishing character and the low surface energy to the copolymer coating. The performance of nine formulations was evaluated, and the Y7 coating exhibited hydrophobic, 6H pencil hardness and5B cross-cut adhesion. The properties of the Y7 coatings are substrate-independent. Antibacterial test and cytotoxicity test were conducted to verify that nano-TiO2 particles inside marine antifouling coating inhibited bacterial growth and enhanced anti-bio adhesion. The results of marine field test inartificial sea waters for six months reveal that the side-chains polysiloxane leads to a self-polishing, low surface energy surface and a better antifouling property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy in cardiomyocyte is involved in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (M-I/R) injury. Caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9 (CARD9) plays a critical role in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as hypertension and cardiac fibrosis. However, its role in autophagy following M-I/R injury is yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we found that CARD9 expression increased in M-I/R mouse hearts, and in H9c2 or neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) in response to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) or H2O2. CARD9−/− mice exhibited a significant cardiac dysfunction following M-I/R injury (30 min of left ascending coronary (LAD) ischemia and 12 h of reperfusion) compared to wild-type (WT) mice. CARD9 deletion impaired autophagy during M-I/R in vivo and in vitro, evidenced by decrease of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) lipidation and p62 accumulation. Conversely, CARD9 overexpression increased autophagic flux as indicated by enhanced expression of LC3 II/LC3 I and a reduction in p62. The protective effect of CARD9 on cardiomyocytes against H/R-induced oxidative stress was abolished by treatment with autophagy inhibitors, 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or Bafilomycin A1(BafA1). CARD9 interacted with RUN domain Beclin-1-interacting cysteine-rich-containing (Rubicon), a negative regulator of autophagy, and enhanced UV-irradiation-resistance-associated gene (UVRAG)-Beclin1-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit type 3 (PI3KC3) interaction and UVRAG-Vps16-mediated Rab7 activation to promote autophagosome formation, maturation, and endocytosis. Ablation of Rubicon by siRNA effectively prevented the detrimental effect of CARD9 knockdown on cardiomyocytes. These results suggest that CARD9 has protective effects on the myocardium against M-I/R injury by activating autophagy and restoring autophagic flux in vivo and in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the low conversion and long reaction time in scaling up reaction in batch reactor, the organocatalyzed epoxidation reaction of styrene was intensified under continuous flow conditions using a commercial fluidic reactor (Corning Advanced Flow G1 Reactor). After investigating the effect of reaction temperature, catalyst amount, MeCN/t-BuOH ratio, FO/FAB (buffer solution amount), total feed flow rate and operating mode on the epoxidation reaction, the optimal reaction conditions were identified under continuous flow conditions. Upon optimization, high conversion and excellent selectivity with short reaction time (3.17 min) can be obtained. We successfully developed a process for the rapid and continuous epoxidation of styrene using an organocatalyst with hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. Compared with the batch conditions, the continuous flow reactor can exhibit unique advantages including high-speed, safety, continuousness and absence of amplifying effect, which will be significant for the industrial production of epoxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In deep mine, coal is usually subjected to coupled high gas pressure and static compressive stress. The coal may be also subjected to dynamic loading due to the sudden fracture of hard roof during mining. In our previous study, the behaviour of gas-containing coals with initial gas pressure was investigated subjected to uniaxial static compression. In this study, the dynamic compressive behaviour of gas-containing coals with gas pressure and static axial preloading is investigated using a modified Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) system. The dynamic behaviours of gas-containing coals under SHPB tests are studied by varying initial gas pressure and axial static preloading. The testing results include strain measurements and energy dissipation. In addition, the wave impedance method is used to quantify damage of gas-containing coals under coupled gas-static-dynamic load. It is found that the dynamic compressive strength of gas-containing coal under coupled load decreases with the increasing initial gas pressure. The gas-containing coal with higher gas pressure and axial static preloading is more vulnerable to dynamic loading. The findings can be applied to mining design or support design in deep mining of high-gas-containing coal seam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the requirements of the high gain and wide field of view (FOV) for indoor visible light communication (VLC) system, a new optical receiving system is proposed, which integrates a Fresnel lens with a hemispherical lens. The effects of the two lenses' spacing and the radius of the hemispherical lens on the optical gain at different FOV are investigated. As the FOV increases, the designed antenna displays enhanced reception performance compared with the traditional receiving optical antenna. The optical gain of the designed antenna is 6.88 in the condition of FOV of 40°. To further verify the rationality of the designed antenna, a model of VLC system is established based on the designed antenna in a room with a size of 5 m×5 m×3 m. The results show that the received average power using the designed antenna increases by 22.81 dBm, and the average signal to noise ratio (SNR) is 2.3 times of that without any optical antenna. The designed antenna is promising for the application in indoor VLC systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of Ta on the solidification microstructure of the Re-containing hot corrosion resistant Ni-base single crystal were investigated. Results showed that Ta addition significantly modified the solidification behavior and further influenced the as-cast microstructure. Ta addition changed the solidification characteristic temperatures and decreased the segregation of refractory elements (Re and W) as well as increased the solidification temperature range from 39.0 to 61.8°C as Ta addition increased from 2wt% to 8wt%. The integration of these two factors increased the primary dendrite arm spacing and changed the morphology and size of γ′ precipitates. With increasing Ta addition from 2wt% to 8wt%, the size of γ′ precipitates in the dendrite core increased substantially from 0.24 to 0.40 μm, whereas the γ′ precipitates in the interdendritic region decreased slightly from 0.56 to 0.47 μm. This paper then discussed the mechanism of these "Ta effects". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridges are lifeline structures. The large residual displacement of a bridge structure after a severe earthquake can significantly impede the post-quake rescue activities. The self-centering buckling-restrained brace (SC-BRB) consisting of a self-centering (SC) component and a traditional buckling-restrained brace (BRB) is installed on the reinforced concrete (RC) double-column bridge piers to minimize the residual deformation of the bridge pier in the present study. The hysteretic behavior of the SC-BRB is experimentally investigated firstly, and compared with those of a traditional BRB and a self-centering brace (SCB). SC-BRB, BRB and SCB are then installed onto the RC double-column bridge piers, and large-scale quasi-static cyclic loading tests are performed to evaluate the hysteretic performances of these bridge piers. For comparison, the bridge pier without any brace is also tested. The damage patterns, hysteretic responses, residual displacements and energy dissipation capacities of the piers without and with different braces are analyzed and compared systematically. Experimental results demonstrate the obvious advantages of SC-BRB in increasing the strength and minimizing the residual deformation of the bridge column. Finally, a simplified hysteretic restoring force model for evaluating the hysteretic behavior of the pier with SC-BRB is developed for easy use. The comparisons between the analytical results and experimental data demonstrate the accuracy of the analytical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the seismic behaviour of precast segmental concrete column revealed that concrete crushing and spalling damages may occur at the toes of the segments due to rocking between segments at the joints. In addition, the energy dissipation capacity of segmental column is smaller than the conventional monolithic column. Energy dissipation bars therefore have been proposed to increase its energy dissipation capability, which, unfortunately, at the cost of also increasing the residual displacement of the column, hence degrades the most advantageous characteristic of precast segmental column. To solve these problems, this paper proposes wrapping the segments with basalt fibre-reinforced polymer (BFRP) to reduce the concrete compressive damage and tension-only external energy dissipation (TEED) devices to dissipate energy without substantially increasing the residual displacement. Experimental cyclic tests and numerical simulations are carried out to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the damage of the segments could be effectively reduced by using BFRP, and the columns show good ductility and almost no strength degradation. The TEED devices are effective to increase the energy dissipation capacity of the column without significantly increasing the residual displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precast segmental column has been developed in recent years as one of the widely used prefabricated structures to accelerate construction speed. However, its applications are limited in the areas of low seismicity due to insufficient knowledge about its performance under seismic loading. Recently, some research works have been performed to understand the seismic performance of precast segmental columns. However, only the uniaxial cyclic loading was considered. In reality, the seismic excitation is not uniaxial. Considering responses of columns to uniaxial loading only may not accurately reflect the true structural response during an earthquake. In this study, comprehensive numerical analyses are carried out to investigate the seismic performances of circular precast segmental columns under biaxial lateral cyclic loadings. A three-dimensional numerical model is firstly developed and validated against the experimental results of a precast concrete-filled tube segmental column under uniaxial cyclic loading. Six biaxial cyclic loading cases are then applied to the validated model. The numerical results indicate that biaxial cyclic loading paths can significantly influence the strength, ductility and energy dissipation of the column. In addition, the residual displacement of the segmental column increases obviously under biaxial cyclic loading compared with that of the column under uniaxial cyclic loading. Shape memory alloy is found to be effective to minimize the residual displacement of the segmental column under biaxial loading. Moreover, the axial loading ratio has a more pronounced effect on the strength degradations of the column under biaxial lateral cyclic loading than that of the column under uniaxial loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilayered auto-associative neural architectures have widely been used in empirical sensor modeling. Typically, such empirical sensor models are used in sensor calibration and fault monitoring systems. However, simultaneous optimization of related performance metrics, i.e., auto-sensitivity, cross-sensitivity, and fault-detectability, is not a trivial task. Learning procedures for parametric and other relevant non-parametric empirical models are sensitive to optimization and regularization methods. Therefore, there is a need for active learning strategies that can better exploit the underlying statistical structure among input sensors and are simple to regularize and fine-tune. To this end, we investigated the greedy layer-wise learning strategy and denoising-based regularization procedure for sensor model optimization. We further explored the effects of denoising-based regularization hyper-parameters such as noise-type and noise-level on sensor model performance and suggested optimal settings through rigorous experimentation. A visualization procedure was introduced to obtain insight into the internal semantics of the learned model. These visualizations allowed us to suggest an implicit noise-generating process for efficient regularization in higher-order layers. We found that the greedy-learning procedure improved the overall robustness of the sensor model. To keep experimentation unbiased and immune to noise-related artifacts in real sensors, the sensor data were sampled from simulators of a nuclear steam supply system of a pressurized water reactor and a Tennessee Eastman chemical process. Finally, we compared the performance of an optimally regularized sensor model with auto-associative neural network, auto-associative kernel regression, and fuzzy similarity-based sensor models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic vulnerability of single pylon cable-stayed bridges under strong ground motions in the transverse direction is of great concern to earthquake engineering researchers and bridge engineers. Introduction of base isolation to cable-stayed bridges has been proved very effective in reducing seismic forces in the bridges in previous studies. This paper proposes a direct displacement based seismic design (DDBD) procedure for base isolated cable-stayed bridge under transverse seismic excitation. One of the key aspects of the DDBD is the realization of a uniform transverse target displacement of the deck under seismic excitation, which is achieved by appropriate design of the isolator stiffness at the bottom of the pylon and the ends of the deck. The proposed DDBD procedure is applied in this paper to the seismic design of a single pylon cable-stayed bridge isolated by friction pendulum bearings. The effectiveness and the accuracy of the resulting design are checked by nonlinear time history analyses. The numerical results indicate that the proposed DDBD procedure can predict the deck displacement profile and amplitudes, as well as the base shear within a reasonable degree of accuracy. The case study demonstrates that the proposed DDBD procedure is sufficiently accurate and practical for the seismic design of base isolated single pylon cable-stayed bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared light detection and sensing is deeply embedded in modern technology and human society and its development has always been benefitting from the discovery of various photoelectric materials. The rise of two-dimensional materials, thanks to their distinct electronic structures, extreme dimensional confinement and strong light–matter interactions, provides a material platform for next-generation infrared photodetection. Ideal infrared detectors should have fast respond, high sensitivity and air-stability, which are rare to meet at the same time in one two-dimensional material. Herein we demonstrate an infrared photodetector based on two-dimensional Bi2O2Se crystal, whose main characteristics are outstanding in the whole two-dimensional family: high sensitivity of 65AW−1 at 1200 nm and ultrafast photoresponse of ~1 ps at room temperature, implying an intrinsic material-limited bandwidth up to 500 GHz. Such great performance is attributed to the suitable electronic bandgap and high carrier mobility of two-dimensional oxyselenide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to model and simulate the multi-support depth-varying seismic motions (MDSMs) within heterogeneous offshore and onshore sites. Based on 1D wave propagation theory, the three-dimensional ground motion transfer functions on the surface or within an offshore or onshore site are derived by considering the effects of seawater and porous soils on the propagation of seismic P waves. Moreover, the depth-varying and spatial variation properties of seismic ground motions are considered in the ground motion simulation. Using the obtained transfer functions at any locations within a site, the offshore or onshore depth-varying seismic motions are stochastically simulated based on the spectral representation method (SRM). The traditional approaches for simulating spatially varying ground motions are improved and extended to generate MDSMs within multiple offshore and onshore sites. The simulation results show that the PSD functions and coherency losses of the generated MDSMs are compatible with respective target values, which fully validates the effectiveness of the proposed simulation method. The synthesized MDSMs can provide strong support for the precise seismic response prediction and performance-based design of both offshore and onshore large-span engineering structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an antibody-mediated autoimmune disease against antigens at the neuromuscular junction. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the susceptibility of MG. We undertook a case-control study to explore the contribution of genes of the auto-antigen and immune-modulating proteins in the pathogenesis of MG. We enrolled 389 adult MG patients and 487 healthy controls. Eighteen SNPs were selected from genes of cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 1 (CHRNA1), autoimmune regulator (AIRE), cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22), and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Rs16862847 and rs2229957 in CHRNA1, rs3761389 in AIRE, and rs733618 in CTLA-4 were significantly associated with MG, with the highest association in SNPs of CHRNA1. Carrier of rs16862847 G allele was found to be an independent risk factor in predicting high-level acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies ( P = 0.003, OR = 10.296). Genetic interaction analysis revealed a synergistic effect of CHRNA1 (rs16862847), AIRE (rs3761389), and CTLA-4 (rs733618) in the susceptibility of MG ( P < 0.0001, OR = 1.95). These findings highlight the role of auto-antigen gene (CHRNA1) in the autoimmune reactions against AChR and reveal synergistic contribution of genes of both auto-antigen and immune-regulating proteins (AIRE and CTLA-4) in the pathogenesis of MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become a basic precursor and facilitator to analyze the emergence of big data with the rise of cloud computing and cloud storage by means of the novel standardized technologies. Then, binary relevance method is carried out as one of the widely known classifier chain methods for multi-label classification. It achieves a higher predictive performance, but it still retains a complex process and takes much computation time. So, in this paper, we present a enhanced classifier chain algorithm with K-means cluster method to confirm the order of the binary classifiers. It has a different strategy that several times of K-means algorithms are employed to get the correlations between labels and to confirm the order of binary classifiers. The algorithm ensures the precise correlations to be transmitted persistently to improve the earlier predictions accuracy. The experiments on a sample data sets of Reuters-21578 show that the approach is effective and appealing in the common cases, it is accurate for a preliminary classification to provide a basis for the further refined classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influence analysis has become an important tool for statistical analysis. This paper is concerned with Bayesian case influence analysis for generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model. Case influence analysis is developed for both the joint and marginal posterior distributions based on the Kullback–Leibler divergence (K–L divergence). A simplified expression is presented for computing the K–L divergence between the full data posterior distribution and the case-deleted posterior distributions. The related computations can be done numerically by Markov Chain Monte Carlo samples from posterior distribution with full data. Some simulation studies are carried out to examine the performance of the proposed methods and show the relations between case-deletion model (CDM) and mean-shift outlier model (MSOM) for the GARCH models. Meanwhile, the methods are also illustrated by a real data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a dynamic substructural interface force identification approach with limited vibration measurements from the target substructure. The substructure is considered to be subjected to both the external excitation forces at some specific degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) within the substructure and the interface forces at interface DOFs. The interface force time histories are represented as orthogonal polynomials and their discrete Fourier transform is expressed in the matrix multiplication form which transforms the time domain interface forces into their Fourier transforms in the frequency domain. A frequency-time domain method is used to formulate the identification equation based on the relationship between two sets of response vectors in a substructure. The coefficients of orthogonal functions are identified with the Tikhonov regularization technique. Numerical studies on a seven-storey plane frame structure are conducted to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed substructure interface force identification approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new halocadmium/methyl viologen hybrid (MV)(CdI)(CdI) ( 1) (MV = methyl viologen) has been structurally determined. In 1, two kinds of dimeric halocadmium clusters constructed from edge/vertex-sharing CdI tetrahedra respectively, i.e., CdI and CdI dimmers were observed, which were templated by methyl viologen cation (MV). A highly interesting feature of 1 is the presence of mixed type dimeric halocadmium clusters in one crystal lattice templated by one kind of cation. 1 displays photoluminescences, and its thermochromism behavior is observed, whose mechanism was verified by theoretical calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete is a brittle material with much lower strength in tension as compared to that in compression. Adding fibres into concrete mix has been intensively investigated to increase the ductility, the crack control and energy absorption capabilities. A new type of steel fibre with spiral shape has been proposed recently. It has been demonstrated by laboratory tests that the spiral-shaped fibres have larger displacement capacity and provide better bonding into the concrete mix compared to other types of fibres such as hooked-end, deformed and corrugated fibres. The present study carries out drop-weight impact tests to study the structural responses of concrete beams reinforced with different types of steel fibres. Plain concrete and concrete reinforced by the commonly used hooked-end steel fibres and the proposed spiral-shaped steel fibres were tested. Two volume fractions, i.e. 0.5 and 1.0 %, of fibres were used to prepare steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) specimens. Ø100-200 mm cylindrical specimens were also prepared and tested to determine the static properties of the concretes. Centre-point flexural tests were conducted on 100 × 100 × 350 mm beams with span length of 300 mm under drop-weight impact loads. The static tests were carried out using hydraulic testing machine and the impact tests were conducted using an instrumented drop-weight testing system. A 15.2 kg hard steel was used as the drop-weight impactor. Two drop heights, namely 0.5 and 1.0 m, were adopted in performing the repeated impact tests. The high-speed camera, fast-response load cells and laser linear variable differential transformers were used to record the failure processes, forces and displacements of the tested specimens under impact loads. The force-displacement relations and the corresponding energy absorption capabilities of the SFRC beams were obtained, compared and discussed. The advantage and effectiveness of the spiral-shaped steel fibres in increasing the performance of SFRC beam elements under impact loads are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alleles of IL-17A and IL-17F genes were reported to be associated with many inflammatory and autoimmune disorders in Asian patients. Serum level and mRNA of IL-17A in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were reported to be significantly higher in MG patients than in healthy controls. In experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) animals, IL-17 may have effects on the severity of MG. This study investigated the association between four SNPs of IL-17A and IL-17F gene (rs8193036, rs2275913 and rs3748067 in IL-17A; rs763780 in IL-17F) and MG in Chinese patients. The allele frequencies were compared between 480 MG patients and 487 healthy controls, between each MG subgroup and the control group, and between each pairs of MG subgroups. Subgroups were specified by clinical features (onset age, gender, thymoma, AChRAb and muscle involvement at onset) and maximal severity during the follow-up. No associations were found between the four SNPs of IL-17A and IL-17F gene and MG in Chinese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin metal sheets are often located in the coupling paths of magnetic coupling energy transfer (MCET) systems. Eddy currents in the metals reduce the energy transfer efficiency and can even present safety risks. This paper describes the use of etched fractal patterns in the metals to suppress the eddy currents and improve the efficiency. Simulation and experimental results show that this approach is very effective. The fractal patterns should satisfy three features, namely, breaking the metal edge, etching in the high-intensity magnetic field region, and etching through the metal in the thickness direction. Different fractal patterns lead to different results. By altering the eddy current distribution, the fractal pattern slots reduce the eddy current losses when the metals show resistance effects and suppress the induced magnetic field in the metals when the metals show inductance effects. Fractal pattern slots in multilayer high conductivity metals (e.g., Cu) reduce the induced magnetic field intensity significantly. Furthermore, transfer power, transfer efficiency, receiving efficiency, and eddy current losses all increase with the increase of the number of etched layers. These results can benefit MCET by efficient energy transfer and safe use in metal shielded equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strain bacterium that is thermophilic, heterotrophic nitrifying, and aerobic denitrifying was isolated and identified as Anoxybacillus contaminans HA for the first time. The identification was based on morphological and physiological characterizations, together with phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA sequence. The strain possessed excellent tolerance to high temperatures, with 55 °C as its optimum and 60 °C as viable. Moreover, NH-N and NO-N could be efficiently removed under thermophilic and solely aerobic conditions, with little intermediate accumulation. Average removal efficiencies of NH-N and NO-N at 55 °C reached 71.0 and 74.7 %, respectively, with removal rates of 5.83 and 32.08 mg l h, respectively. Single-factor experiments suggested that the optimal conditions for both heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification were glucose as carbon source, NH-N range of 50-200 mg l, and wide NO-N range of 200-1000 mg l. These results indicated that strain HA had heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification abilities, as well as the notable ability to remove ammonium under thermophilic condition. Thus, this strain has potential application in waste-gas treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]