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Copper is a trace element required by the organism, but once the level of copper exceeds the threshold, it becomes toxic and even causes death. The underlying mechanisms of copper-induced death are inconclusive, with different studies showing different opinions on the mechanism of copper-induced death. Multiple investigations have shown that copper induces oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, nucleolar stress, and proteasome inhibition, all of which can result in cell death. The latest research elucidates a copper-dependent death and denominates it as cuproptosis. Cuproptosis takes place through the combination of copper and lipoylated proteins of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, triggering agglomeration of lipoylated proteins and loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins, leading to proteotoxic stress and ultimately death. Given the toxicity and necessity of copper, abnormal levels of copper lead to diseases such as neurological diseases and cancer. The development of cancer has a high demand for copper, neurological diseases involve the change of copper contents and the binding of copper to proteins. There is a close relationship between these two kinds of diseases and copper. Here, we summarize the mechanisms of copper-related death, and the association between copper and diseases, to better figure out the influence of copper in cell death and diseases, thus advancing the clinical remedy of these diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatigue damage caused by flow-induced vibration (FIV) is one of the major concerns for multiple cylindrical structures in many engineering applications. The FIV suppression is of great importance for the security of many cylindrical structures. Many active and passive control methods have been employed for the vibration suppression of an isolated cylinder undergoing vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). The FIV suppression methods are mainly extended to the multiple cylinders from the vibration control of the isolated cylinder. Due to the mutual interference between the multiple cylinders, the FIV mechanism is more complex than the VIV mechanism, which makes a great challenge for the FIV suppression. Some efforts have been devoted to vibration suppression of multiple cylinder systems undergoing FIV over the past two decades. The control methods, such as helical strakes, splitter plates, control rods and flexible sheets, are not always effective, depending on many influence factors, such as the spacing ratio, the arrangement geometrical shape, the flow velocity and the parameters of the vibration control devices. The FIV response, hydrodynamic features and wake patterns of the multiple cylinders equipped with vibration control devices are reviewed and summarized. The FIV suppression efficiency of the vibration control methods are analyzed and compared considering different influence factors. Further research on the FIV suppression of multiple cylinders is suggested to provide insight for the development of FIV control methods and promote engineering applications of FIV control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular simulations are now an essential part of modern chemistry and physics, especially for the investigation of macromolecules. They have evolved into mature approaches that can be used effectively to understand the structure-to-property relationships of diverse macromolecular systems. In this article, we provide a tutorial on molecular simulations, focusing on the technical and practical aspects. Several prominent and classical simulation methods and software are introduced. The applications of molecular simulations in various directions of macromolecular science are then featured by representative systems, including self-assembly, crystallization, chemical reaction, and some typical non-equilibrium systems. This tutorial paper provides a useful overview of molecular simulations in the rapid progress of macromolecular science, and suggests guidance for researchers who start exploiting molecular simulations in their study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of biopolymers for biomedical applications has traditionally been based on new chemistries. However, there is growing recognition that the biological responses can be regulated by the physical as well as the chemical properties of biomaterials. Understanding the biophysicochemical principles regarding biopolymers is thereby of great importance in the generation of advanced biomaterials. Herein, this review article seeks to provide a conceptual framework demonstrating how the approaches of tailored computer simulations and theoretical analysis are harnessed to explore the physicochemical principles of biopolymer cellular interactions. We briefly introduce the theoretical and simulation methods used in this field, summarize the typical findings based on these approaches, and describe the correlations between theoretical results and experiments. Finally, the future prospects for the theoretical aspect of biopolymers and their biophysicochemical interactions are discussed. The knowledge might be critical from the perspective of advantageous and safe use of designer biomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous variable quantum cryptography has developed rapidly in recent decades, but how to verify identity in the continuous variable quantum system is still an urgent issue. To solve this problem, we propose a continuous variable quantum identification (CV-QI) protocol based on the correlation of the two-mode squeezed vacuum state and the continuous variable teleportation. The bidirectional identity verification between two participants of the communication can be achieved by the proposed CV-QI protocol. To guarantee the security, we make full use of the decoy state sequences during the whole process of the proposed CV-QI protocol. Besides, we provide the security analyses of the proposed CV-QI protocol, and analyses indicate that the security of the proposed CV-QI protocol is guaranteed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In offshore engineering, the phenomenon of free span often occurs, and the pipeline may have multiple free spans adjacent to each other, forming a multi-span pipeline. The interaction of different spans makes the structural vibration characteristics more complex, which may change the fatigue characteristics of the pipeline and affect the safety of the structure. In this paper, model tests were designed to explore the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) characteristics of multi-span pipelines and investigate the multi-span interaction mechanism. The experimental study mainly focused on the dynamic response of double-span pipelines, and further extended to triple-span pipelines, hoping that the results can be applied to more complex environment. The effects of span-length ratio, buried depth and axial force on VIV of the pipeline were investigated and discussed. The dynamic response of the pipeline varied with the span length. There was obvious interaction between different spans of multi-span pipelines, and the pipe-sediment interaction obviously affected the vibration characteristics of pipeline. The differences of pipeline burial depth and axial force changed the structural stiffness. With the increase of buried depth, the response amplitude presented a downward trend. The spanwise evolutions were asymmetric caused by the pipe-sediment interaction and multi-span interaction. The results can help to identify multi-span pipelines in engineering, and realize the prevention and control of free spans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An air-supplement plasma synthetic jet (PSJ) actuator increases the air supplemental volume in the recovery stage and improves the jet energy by attaching a check valve to the chamber of a conventional actuator. To explore the flow control effect and mechanism of the air-supplement actuator, via particle image velocimetry experiments in a low-speed wind tunnel, the flow field and boundary layer characteristics of a two-dimensional airfoil surface under different actuation states were compared for different attack angles and jet orifices. The experimental results show that, compared with the conventional actuation state, the jet energy of the air-supplement PSJ is higher and the indirect mixing effect of the counter-vortex sequence produced by the jet-mainstream interaction is stronger. Furthermore, the boundary layer mixing effect is better, which can further suppress flow separation and improve the critical flow separation attack angle. Moreover, increasing the jet momentum coefficient can enhance the flow control effect. The findings of this study could provide guidance for the flow control application of air-supplement PSJs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submarine pipelines play an important role in offshore oil and gas development. A touchy issue in pipeline design and application is how to avoid the local collapse of pipelines under external pressure. The pipe diameter-thickness ratio D/t is one of the key factors that determine the local critical collapse pressure of the submarine pipelines. Based on the pipeline collapse experiment and finite element simulation, this paper explores the pressure-bearing capacity of the pipeline under external pressure in a wide range of diameter-thickness ratio D/t. Some interesting and important phenomena have been observed and discussed. In the range of 160 should be controlled even more. In addition, combining the results of finite element simulation and model experiment, an empirical formula of critical collapse pressure for thick-walled pipelines is proposed, which is used to correct the error of DNV specification in the range of 10

We design a novel high-efficient quantum key agreement protocol with entanglement measure, whose security and high efficiency are guaranteed. In the proposed quantum key agreement protocol, we just utilize the Bell states and two-particle states as quantum resources, and just utilize Bell measurement and the classical binary coding to generate the final shared secret key. Which reduces the quantum sources and improves the efficiency of the proposed quantum key agreement protocol. Besides, we provide the security analyses of the proposed QKA protocol, including the robustness and the attacks of participants. Analyses demonstrate that the proposed QKA protocol with entanglement measure is robust and it can resist the most attacks. In addition, we compare our protocol with typical QKA protocols, and the results show that our protocol is high-efficient. Furthermore, the proposed novel QKA protocol with entanglement measure can be implemented with existing physical technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time imaging of the tumour boundary is important during surgery to ensure that sufficient tumour tissue has been removed. However, the current fluorescence probes for bioimaging suffer from poor tumour specificity and narrow application of the imaging window used. Here, we report a bioactivated in vivo assembly (BIVA) nanotechnology, demonstrating a general optical probe with enhanced tumour accumulation and prolonged imaging window. The BIVA probe exhibits active targeting and assembly induced retention effect, which improves selectivity to tumours. The surface specific nanofiber assembly on the tumour surface increases the accumulation of probe at the boundary of the tumor. The blood circulation time of the BIVA probe is prolonged by 110 min compared to idocyanine green. The assembly induced metabolic stability broaden the difference between the tumor and background, obtaining a delayed imaging window between 8–96 h with better signal-to-background contrast (>9 folds). The fabricated BIVA probe permits precise imaging of small sized (<2 mm) orthotopic pancreatic tumors in vivo. The high specificity and sensitivity of the BIVA probe may further benefit the intraoperative imaging in a clinical setting. Fluorescence probes for detecting tumours during surgery can suffer from poor accumulation and short imaging windows. Here, the author develop fluorescence probes with multiple motifs that permit enhanced circulation times, tumour targeting and use the probes to image pancreatic cancer in mice [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow-induced vibration (FIV) of a group of long, flexible cylinders involves a complex interaction between fluid and structures. Although a substantial number of studies have been devoted to assessing FIV response behaviours, fatigue damage features of staggered flexible cylinders are not fully understood. Moreover, the wake-induced flutter constitutes an intricate hydrodynamic behaviour that frequently occurs when one cylinder is in the vicinity of another one. Unfortunately, existing studies on the fatigue damage caused by wake-induced flutter are incapable of achieving better results. This paper, therefore, estimates the FIV fatigue damage of two staggered flexible cylinders with an aspect ratio of 350 and a mass ratio of 1.90 based on normal S—N curves according to Det Norske Veritas (DNV) regulations. Twelve staggered cases (cross-flow spacing ratios of 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 6.0 and in-line spacing ratios of 4.0, 6.0, and 8.0) are discussed for comparison, and fatigue damage caused by wake-induced flutter is thoroughly considered. Fatigue damage results indicate that the variation of the cross-flow (CF) spacing ratio has a greater influence than that of the in-line (IL) spacing ratio on the CF fatigue damage of the upstream cylinder. Lower IL fatigue damages of the upstream cylinder are observed when reduced velocity Vr⩾ 15.03 due to the wake flow patterns with different IL spacing ratios. Moreover, wake interference, especially wake-induced flutter, predominates the fatigue damage characteristics of the downstream cylinder. When Vr=8.77−11.27, wake-induced flutter enhances the IL fatigue damage of the downstream cylinder and slightly affects that of the upstream body. Furthermore, wake-induced flutter causes considerable IL fatigue damage disparity between the two staggered cylinders by suppressing the IL fatigue damage of the upstream cylinder when Vr⩾20.04. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yangyin Yiqi Huoxue Granule (养阴益气活血颗粒, YYHG) in the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS) patients with qi-yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome (QYDBSS), and to explore its effective dosage. Methods: The total of 288 patients were randomly assigned to the YYHG high-dose, YYHG low-dose, positive control (administered Xiaoshuantong Granule, XSTG, 消栓通颗粒), or placebo control (administered inert granule) groups (72 cases per group) by software-drived competitive block randomization. The trial was conducted for a 28-day period, with a 180-day follow-up period. The primary outcome was the comprehensive curative evaluation, and secondary outcomes were the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, Barthel activities of daily living (ADL) index score, the quality of life index (QLI) score, and the Chinese medicine syndrome (CMS) score. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. The clinical safety was also assessed. Results: The total of 288 participants were recruited between June 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009, and 287 patients received intervention; the treatment groups were well balanced at baseline. The comprehensive cure rates of YYHG high-dose, low-dose, positive and placebo control groups were 63.38%, 31.94%, 36.11% and 6.14%, respectively; there was a statistical difference between the two groups (P<0.01), while the high-dose YYHG treatment group was significantly higher than the other 3 groups (P<0.01). The improvement of NIHSS, ADL, QLI and CMS scores of the YYHG high-dose and low-dose groups was significantly better than that of the positive control group and the placebo control group (P<0.05). In terms of improving the classification of the NIHSS scale and the assessment of the ADL scale, the YYHG high-dose group was significantly better than the other three groups (P<0.05), and the YYHG low-dose group was better than the placebo control group (P<0.01). At the same time, except for the QLI score, the high-dose group was better than the low-dose group (P<0.05). In terms of safety, adverse reactions after YYHG treatment were generally mild (3.78%), and no serious adverse reactions have been reported. Conclusion: YYHG is safe and effective in the treatment of IS patients with QYDBSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the synergistic effect of Naoxintong Capsule (NXTC, 脑心通胶囊) and Guhong Injection (GHI, 谷红注射液) on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Methods: Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups: control group, oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) group, nimodipine group (9.375 mg/kg), NXTC group (0.5 g/kg), GHI group (5 mL/kg) and NXTC+GHI group (0.5 g/kg NXTC+5 mL/kg GHI), after the onset of reperfusion and once per day for the following 7 days. Blood was collected 1 h after final administration, and the sera were collected. Cultured primary rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (rBMECs) were subjected to OGD to establish a cell injury model. Untreated rBMECs were used as blank control. The cell counting kit-8 assay was used to assess cell viability using the sera. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Apoptosis was evaluated after Hoechst33342 staining using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. JC-1 staining was performed to assess changes in mitochondrial membrane potential. Results: Statistical analysis indicated that more than 95% of the cells were rBMECs. Compared with the OGD group, the cellular morphology of the all drug delivery groups improved. In particular, the combined drug group had the most significant effect. Compared with the OGD group, all drug intervention groups induced a decrease in the apoptotic rate of rBMECs, increased the SOD levels, and decreased the MDA levels (all P<0.01). Compared with the mono-therapy groups, the NXTC+GHI group exhibited a significant improvement in the number of apoptotic rBMECs (P<0.01). All drug intervention groups showed different degrees of increase in membrane potential, and the NXTC+GHI group was higher than the NXTC or GHI group (P<0.01). Conclusion: The combinationa application of NXTC and GHI on cerebral I/R injury clearly resulted in protective benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helical strake is a widely-used device for passive flow-induced vibration (FIV) control of cylindrical structures. It is omnidirectional and can effectively reduce FIV response amplitude. Studies on the passive FIV control for cylindrical structures are mainly concerned with a single isolated cylinder, while the influence of wake interference between multiple cylinders on FIV suppression devices is less considered up to now. In engineering applications, multiple flexible cylinders with large aspect ratios can be subjected to complex flow forces, and the effects of wake interference are obvious. The FIV suppression effect of helical strake of a common configuration (17.5D pitch and 0.25D height, where D is the cylinder diameter) in two staggered cylinders system is still unknown. This paper systematically studied the FIV response of multiple cylinders system fitted with the helical strakes by model tests. The relative spatial position of the two cylinders is fixed at S = 3.0D and T = 8.0D, which ensures the cylindrical structures in the flow interference region. The experimental results show that the helical strakes effectively reduce the FIV response on staggered upstream cylinder, and the suppression efficiency is barely affected by the smooth or straked downstream cylinder. The corresponding FIV suppression efficiency on the downstream cylinder is remarkably reduced by the influence of the upstream wake flow. The wake-induced vibration (WIV) phenomenon is not observed on the staggered downstream cylinder, which normally occurs on the downstream straked cylinder in a tandem arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic hepatectomy has gained popularity in the management of malignant liver lesions in the past decade. Its safety and feasibility, with faster recovery and comparable long-term outcomes, have been widely published. Nonetheless, laparoscopic isolated caudate lobectomy is still rare and technically demanding. We herein present a video on laparoscopic total caudate lobectomy for caudate cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: The patient is a 61-year-old man who presented with epigastric distending discomfort. A contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was performed, showing a 4.6 × 3.9 cm tumor in the caudate lobe adjacent to the inferior vena cava, middle hepatic vein, right hepatic vein, as well as the bifurcation of the main trunk of the portal pedicle. The carbohydrate antigen was elevated to 54.58 U/ml (normal < 37 U/ml), and his liver function was normal. With the preoperative diagnosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, laparoscopic caudate lobectomy was contemplated. Results: The operative time was 300 min. The estimated intraoperative blood loss was 180 ml. The patient was discharged on the seventh postoperative day without any complications. Histopathological examination showed a 4.2 cm cholangiocarcinoma (T2N0M0) with a negative margin. He received a course of adjuvant chemotherapy. No recurrence was noted upon follow-up at 6 months after the operation. Conclusions: Laparoscopic resection for caudate lobe is a feasible and safe procedure. An experienced hepatobiliary surgeon could perform the procedure in selected cases, even with hepatic vein invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Till now, little information is available on the flow-induced vibration (FIV) of multiple flexible cylinders with unequal diameters. Some FIV characteristics of unequal-diameter cylinders can be predicted based on the knowledge of equal-diameter cylinders, while there are still other features remaining unrevealed. In this paper, the FIV characteristics of two flexible cylinders with unequal diameters arranged side-by-side are experimentally investigated. The diameter ratio of the small cylinder (Small Cyl.) to the large cylinder (Large Cyl.) is nearly 0.5. The aspect ratios and mass ratios of the two flexible cylinders are 350/181 and 1.90/1.47, respectively. The centre-to-centre spacing ratio in the cross-flow (CF) direction is kept constant as 6.0 and the two cylinders can oscillate freely in both the CF and in-line (IL) directions. The towing velocity varies from 0.05 m/s to 1.00 m/s. The dominant modes and frequencies, CF and IL displacement amplitudes and response trajectories are discussed. Compared with the case of two identical cylinders in our previous study, the FIV responses demonstrate some similarities and differences. The similarities are as follows. Both cylinders exhibit multi-mode vibration features and they interact with each other. Meanwhile, the IL FIV shows a more complex behaviour than that in the CF direction. The difference is that as the diameter of one cylinder is increased, the effect on the smaller cylinder becomes more significant. For Large Cyl., the FIV response is similar to its isolated counterpart, which indicates that Small Cyl. has a negligible effect on the FIV of the larger one. Whereas Large Cyl. perplexes the FIV of Small Cyl. during the vibration process. The spacing would change when both cylinders are oscillating. Proximity interference between the two cylinders and wake shielding effect of the Large Cyl. may occur. The dominant frequencies of Small Cyl. are reduced and the wake-induced flutter of Small Cyl. is observed from the response trajectories at different measuring points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pipe-soil interactions at shoulders can significantly affect the vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of free-spanning pipes in the subsea. In this paper, the seabed soil reacting force on the pipe is directly calculated with a nonlinear hysteretic soil model. For the VIV in the middle span, a classic van der Pol wake oscillator is adopted. Based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, the vibration equations of the pipe are obtained which are different in the middle span and at the two end shoulders. The static configuration of the pipe is firstly calculated and then the VIV is simulated. The present model is validated with the comparisons of VIV experiment, pipe-soil interaction experiment and the simulation results of VIV of free-spanning pipes in which the seabed soil is modelled with spring-dashpots. With the present model, the influence of seabed soil on the VIV of a free-spanning pipe is analyzed. The parametric studies show that when the seabed soil has a larger suction area, the pipe vibrates with smaller bending stresses and is safer. While with the increase of the shear strength of the seabed soil, the bending stresses increase and the pipe faces more danger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helical strakes have been widely applied for suppressing the vibration of flexible cylinders undergoing vortex-shedding in offshore engineering. However, most research works have concerned on the application of helical strakes for the isolated flexible cylinder subjected to vortex-induced vibration (VIV). The effectiveness of helical strakes attached to side-by-side flexible cylinders in vibration reduction is still unclear. In this paper, the response characteristics of two side-by-side flexible cylinders with and without helical strakes were experimentally investigated in a towing tank. The configuration of the helical strakes used in the experiment had a pitch of 17.5D and a height of 0.25D (where D is the cylinder diameter), which is usually considered the most effective for VIV suppression of isolated marine risers and tendons. The center-to-center distance of the two cylinders was 3.0D. The uniform flow with a velocity ranging from 0.05 m/s to 1.0 m/s was generated by towing the cylinder models along the tank. Experimental results, including the displacement amplitude, the dominant frequency, the dominant mode, and the mean drag force coefficient, were summarized and discussed. For the case where only one cylinder in the two-cylinder system had helical strakes, the experimental results indicated that helical strakes can remarkably reduce the flow-induced vibration (FIV) of the staked cylinder. For the case of two straked cylinders in a side-by-side arrangement, it was found that the performance of helical strakes in suppressing the FIV is as good as that for the isolated cylinder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marine risers are often subjected to parametric excitations from the fluctuation top tension. The top tension on the riser may fluctuate with multiple frequencies caused by irregular waves. In this paper, the influence between different frequency components in the top tension on the riser system is theoretically simulated and analyzed. With the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, a dynamic model for the vibrations of the riser is established. The top tension is set as fluctuating with time and it has two different frequencies. The influences from the fluctuation amplitudes, circular frequencies and phase angles of these frequency components on the riser system are analyzed in detail. When these two frequencies are fluctuating in the stable regions, the riser system may become unstable because ?1+?22On. The fluctuation amplitudes of these frequencies have little effect on the components of the vibration frequencies of the riser. For different phase angles, the stability and dynamic behaviors of the riser would be different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The epidemiology of upper gastrointestinal (L4) Crohn's disease in China remains poorly characterized.Aims: We aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of L4 disease and clarify the relationship between disease characteristics at diagnosis and early outcomes.Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 246 patients diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 and followed up for > 1 year post-diagnosis. Primary outcomes included the 1-year rates of hospitalization and abdominal surgery according to disease location and behavior.Results: Of 80 patients with L4 disease (61, 25, and 18 with esophagogastroduodenal, jejunal, and proximal ileal involvement, respectively), none had granuloma, whereas 66.7%, 50%, 46.9%, 75%, and 70% had disease-specific endoscopic lesions in the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and proximal ileum, respectively. Compared to non-L4 disease, L4 disease was associated with higher rates of abdominal surgery (41.3% vs. 11.4%, P < 0.001) but similar rates of hospitalization within 1 year post-diagnosis. In L4 disease, jejunal and proximal ileal involvement was associated with stricturing behavior (P = 0.034, P < 0.001) and higher abdominal surgery rate (both: P < 0.001). Risk factors for abdominal surgery within 1 year post-diagnosis included age ≥ 40 years (OR 1.920; 95% CI 1.095-3.367), L4 phenotype (OR 6.335; 95% CI 3.862-10.390), stricturing disease (OR 3.162; 95% CI 1.103-9.866), and penetrating disease (OR 11.504; 95% CI 3.409-38.825), whereas the protective factor was female sex (OR 0.214; 95% CI 0.123-0.373).Conclusions: Early outcomes are worse for L4 than for non-L4 disease. Jejunoileum involvement predicts stricturing disease and early surgery. More aggressive initial therapy is needed to improve L4-disease prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, polymers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effects have attracted significant attention due to their broad applications in luminescence sensors, stimuli responsive materials, electroluminescence devices, etc. In this review, we summarize recent advances concerning AIE polymers. Four types of AIE polymers including end-functionalized polymers, side-chain polymers, main-chain polymers, and other polymers according to the location of AIEgens, are described. Their synthetic preparation, optical property, AIE effects, and applications are also illustrated in this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to reconstruct a dynamic displacement of slender flexible structures is the key technology to develop smart structures and structural health monitoring (SHM), which are beneficial for controlling the structural vibration and protecting the structural safety. In this paper, the displacement reconstruction method based on cubic spline fitting is put forward to reconstruct the dynamic displacement of slender flexible structures without the knowledge of mode-shapes and applied loading. The obtained strains and displacements are compared with the results calculated by ABAQUS to check the method's validity. It can be found that the proposed method can accurately identify the strains and displacement of slender flexible structures undergoing linear vibrations, nonlinear vibrations, and parametric vibrations. Under the concentrated force, the strains of slender flexible structures will change suddenly along the axial direction. With locally densified measurement points, the present reconstruction method still works well for the strain concentration problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yinhuapinggan granule (YHPG), a modified prescription based on Ma-Huang-Tang (MHT), is used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat influenza, cough, and viral pneumonia. In this study, we investigated the antiviral effects of YHPG by means of pre-, post-, and co-treatment, and its underlying mechanisms on regulating the levels of inflammatory-related cytokines, modulating the mRNA expressions of interferon-stimulated genes in influenza virus-infected murine macrophage cells (RAW264.7), and evaluating the protein expressions of key effectors in the Type I IFN and pattern recognition receptor (PRRs) signaling pathways. The results showed that YHPG markedly inhibited influenza virus (IFV) replication in pre-, post- and co-treatment assay, especially in post-treatment assay. Antiviral mechanisms studies revealed that YHPG (500 and 250 μg/mL) significantly up-regulated levels of IFN-β, IFN-stimulated genes (Mx-1, ISG-15 and ISG-56) compared with the IFV control group, while the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly down-regulated. Furthermore, western blot analysis results revealed that the protein expressions of the phosphorylated forms of TBK1, IRF3, ERK1/2, P38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 were significantly down-regulated in RAW264.7 cells with the YHPG (500 and 250 μg/mL) treatment, while the expression of the phosphorylated form of STAT1 was significantly enhanced. Based on these results, YHPG had antiviral effects in IFV-infected RAW264.7 cells, which might be associated with regulation of the inflammatory cytokines production, evaluation of the levels of IFN-stimulated genes, and modulation of the protein expressions of key effectors in the Type I IFN and PRRs signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experimental tests of passive VIV suppression of an inclined flexible cylinder with round-sectioned helical strakes were carried out in a towing tank. During the tests, the cylinder models fitted with and without helical strakes were towed along the tank. The towing velocity ranged from 0.05 to 1.0 m/s with an interval of 0.05 m/s. Four different yaw angles (a=0°, 15°, 30° and 45°), defined as the angle between the axis of the cylinder and the plane orthogonal of the oncoming flow, were selected in the experiment. The main purpose of present experimental work is to further investigate the VIV suppression effectiveness of round-sectioned helical strakes on the inclined flexible cylinder. The VIV responses of the smooth cylinder and the cylinder with square-sectioned strakes under the same experimental condition were also presented for comparison. The experimental results indicated that the round-Sectioned strake basically had a similar effect on VIV suppression compared with the square-sectioned one, and both can significantly reduce the VIV of the vertical cylinder which corresponded to the case of a=0°. But with the increase of yaw angle, the VIV suppression effectiveness of both round- and square-section strakes deteriorated dramatically, the staked cylinder even had a much stronger vibration than the smooth one did in the in-line (IL) direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is used to build a numerical wave-current tank (NWCT). The wave is generated by using a piston-type wave generator and is absorbed by using a sponge layer. The uniform current field is generated by simultaneously imposing the directional velocity and hydrostatic pressure in both inflow and outflow regions set below the NWCT. Particle cyclic boundaries are also implemented for recycling the Lagrangian fluid particles. Furthermore, to shorten the time to reach a steady state, a temporary rigid-lid treatment for the water surface is proposed. It turns out to be very effective for weakening the undesired oscillatory flow at the beginning stage of the current generation. The calculated water surface elevation and horizontal-velocity profile are validated against the available experimental data. Satisfactory agreements are obtained, demonstrating the good capability of the NWCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental studies on flow-induced vibrations (FIV) reduction of two side-by-side flexible cylinders inclined at 45° by using the helical strakes were carried out in a towing tank. The main aim of the experiment is to check whether the helical strakes with a pitch of 17.5D and a height of 0.25D, which is considered as the most effective vibration suppression device for the isolated cylinder undergoing vortex-shedding, still perform very well to reduce FIV of two inclined flexible cylinders in a side-by-side arrangement. The vibration of two identical inclined cylinders with a mass ratio of 1.90 and an aspect ratio of 350 was tested in the experiment. The center-to-center distance between the two cylinders was 3.0D. The uniform flow was simulated by towing the cylinder models along the tank. The towing velocity varied from 0.05 to 1.0 m/s with an interval of 0.05 m/s. The maximum Reynolds number can be up to 1.6×104. Three cases were experimentally studied in this paper, including two side-by-side inclined smooth cylinders, only one smooth cylinder fitted with helical strakes in the two side-by-side inclined cylinders system and both two cylinders attached with helical strakes. The variations of displacement amplitude, dominant frequency, FIV suppression efficiency and dominant mode for the two side-by-side inclined cylinders with reduced velocity were shown and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the Reynolds number has a significant effect on the vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of cylinders. In this paper, a novel in-line (IL) and cross-flow (CF) coupling VIV prediction model for circular cylinders has been proposed, in which the influence of the Reynolds number was comprehensively considered. The Strouhal number linked with the vortex shedding frequency was calculated through a function of the Reynolds number. The coefficient of the mean drag force was fitted as a new piecewise function of the Reynolds number, and its amplification resulted from the CF VIV was also taken into account. The oscillating drag and lift forces were modelled with classical van der Pol wake oscillators and their empirical parameters were determined based on the lock-in boundaries and the peak-amplitude formulas. A new peak-amplitude formula for the IL VIV was developed under the resonance condition with respect to the mass-damping ratio and the Reynolds number. When compared with the results from the experiments and some other prediction models, the present model could give good estimations on the vibration amplitudes and frequencies of the VIV both for elastically-mounted rigid and long flexible cylinders. The present model considering the influence of the Reynolds number could generally provide better results than that neglecting the effect of the Reynolds number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PDFs (probability density functions) and probability of a ship rolling under the random parametric and forced excitations were studied by a semi-analytical method. The rolling motion equation of the ship in random oblique waves was established. The righting arm obtained by the numerical simulation was approximately fitted by an analytical function. The irregular waves were decomposed into two Gauss stationary random processes, and the CARMA (2, 1) model was used to fit the spectral density function of parametric and forced excitations. The stochastic energy envelope averaging method was used to solve the PDFs and the probability. The validity of the semi-analytical method was verified by the Monte Carlo method. The C11 ship was taken as an example, and the influences of the system parameters on the PDFs and probability were analyzed. The results show that the probability of ship rolling is affected by the characteristic wave height, wave length, and the heading angle. In order to provide proper advice for the ship's manoeuvring, the parametric excitations should be considered appropriately when the ship navigates in the oblique seas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study on a bare flexible cylinder as well as cylinders fitted with two types of cross-sectioned helical strakes was carried out in a towing tank. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of strakes' crosssection on the vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) suppression of a flexible cylinder. The square-sectioned and roundsectioned helical strakes were selected in the experimental tests. The uniform current was generated by towing the cylinder models along the tank using a towing carriage. The Reynolds number was in the range of 800-16000. The strain responses were measured by the strain gages in cross-flow (CF) and in-line (IL) directions. A modal analysis method was adopted to obtain the displacement responses using the strain signals in different measurement positions. The comparison of the experimental results among the bare cylinder, square-sectioned straked cylinder and roundsectioned straked cylinder was performed. The helical strakes can effectively reduce the strain amplitude, displacement amplitude, response frequencies and dominant modes of a flexible cylinder excited by VIV. And the mean drag coefficients of straked cylinders were approximately consistent with each other. In addition, the squaresectioned and round-sectioned strakes nearly share the similar VIV reduction behaviors. Sometimes, the strakes with round-section represent more excellent effects on the VIV suppression of response frequency than those with squaresection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Pipeline spans may occur due to natural seabed irregularities or local scour of bed sediment. The pure in-line (IL) vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) analysis of the free spans is an important subject for design of pipeline in uneven seabed. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of pure IL VIV of a free spanning pipeline under general boundary conditions. An IL wake oscillator model which can describe the coupling of pipeline structure and fluctuating drag is introduced and employed. The coupled partial differential equations of structure and wake are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations using two-mode Galerkin method. Some case studies are presented and thoroughly discussed in order to investigate the effects of internal fluid, axial force and boundary conditions on the pure IL VIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) ranks the first death rate among the urogenital tumors, whereas its incidence follows the incidences of prostate and bladder cancer. The diagnosis of RCC at early stages allows immediately undertaking appropriate treatment, which significantly increases patients' survival rate. Early and accurate diagnosis avoids inadequate treatment, provides the disease progression forecast, and permits to apply more efficient therapy. Unfortunately, the small renal tumors are usually asymptomatic resulting in the late diagnosis and, therefore, low efficacy of treatment. Thus, sensible and preventive biomarkers are essential for early RCC detection and monitoring of its progression. So far, many attempts were performed aimed at recognizing novel informative kidney tumor biomarkers applicable for early detection of the disease and possessing prognostic and predictive capabilities. This review summarizes recent advances in renal tumor biomarkers recognition, their diagnostic and prognostic values, and clinical feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the effects of Danhong Injection (丹红注射液) and its main components, including daiclzein and hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), on the anticoagulation, fibrinolysis, anti-apoptosis in hypoxia model of vein endothelial cells (VECs). Methods: VECs were prepared and were put in a hypoxia environment, which consisted of mixed gas of 95% N and 5% CO mixed gas, when reached confluent culture. Five groups used different treatments, including normal control group, hypoxia group, daiclzein group, HSYA group and Danhong Injection group. The VECs were identified by fluorescence double labeling methods. The morphology was observed by a phase contrast microscopy. The effects of Danhong Injection, daiclzein and HSYA on 6 keto prostaglandin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α) level was measured by the method of radioimmunoassay (RIA). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was tested by water soluble tetrazolium salt. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured by thiobarbituric acid. The activities of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) were measured by the method of chromogenic substrate. The contents of endothelin (ET) and nitric oxide (NO) were detected by non-equilibrium RIA and enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. Cells apoptosis rate was determined by flow cytometry. Results: Compared with the normal control group, the floating cells number, PAI activity, ET and MDA contents, and cells apoptosis rate in the culture solution of hypoxia group were all significantly increased, whereas the 6-keto-PGF1α and NO contents, and t-PA and SOD activities were decreased significantly ( P<0.01). Compared with the hypoxia group, Danhong Injection markedly increased the 6-keto-PGF1α content and SOD activity, regulated PAI and t-PA activities, ET and NO contents, and decreased MDA content and cells apoptosis rate ( P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions: Danhong Injection and its main components played an important role in protecting primary VECs from hypoxic damage by regulating the secretion and vasomotor function of VECs. The function of Danhong Injection was most remarkable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yinhuapinggan granule (YHPG), a Chinese medicine granule based on Ma-Huang-Tang (Ephedra Decoction) and the clinical experience of Professor Wan Haitong, is used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of colds, influenza, fever, inflammation and cough. This study investigated the antiviral effects of YHPG on the production of inflammatory cytokines in influenza virus (IFV)-infected mice and evaluated the effect of YHPG on the expression of NF-κB p65 and the level of key signaling molecules in the TLR4 signaling pathway. ICR mice were orally administrated YHPG at doses of 7.5, 15 and 30 g kg day for 2 or 6 days after IFV infection. On days 3 and 7 after infection, YHPG (15 g/kg and 30 g/kg) significantly increased levels of interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon gamma and decreased levels of IL-4, IL-5 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in serum compared with the IFV control group. Furthermore, the expression of TLR4, MyD88, TRAF6 and NF-κB p65 at the mRNA and protein level was significantly lower in the YHPG (15 and 30 g/kg) treatment groups than in the IFV control group. These results suggest that YHPG has antiviral effects in IFV-infected mice, which is associated with the inhibition of the TLR4−MyD88−TRAF6 signaling pathway and the expression of NF-κB p65. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:Krüppel-like factor 8 (KLF8) plays important roles in cell cycle and oncogenic transformation. On other hand, androgen receptor (AR) is crucial in development of both androgen-dependent and independent prostatic malignancies. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of KLF8 in prostate cancer (PCa) and the relationship between KLF8 and AR.Methods:Eight human PCa cell lines, including androgen-dependent LNCap cells and androgen-independent 22Rv1 cells, as well as human PCa samples were studied. LNCap cells and 22Rv1 cells were transfected with plasmids encoding full-length wild-type KLF8 or KLF8 shRNA. The expression of KLF8 protein was detected using Western blotting or immunohistochemical staining. Cell proliferation in vitro was measured with MTT assay, and in vivo in a xenograft nude mouse model. Yeast two-hybrid screening, co-immunoprecipitation and pull down assays were used to examine the binding of KLF8 to AR. Luciferase reporter gene assay was used to measure the transcriptional activity of the genes targeted by AR.Results:In 133 human PCa samples, KLF8 protein staining was observed in 92.65% (63/68) of high-grade PCa, 66.15% (43/65) of low-grade PCa, and 6.82% (3/44) of adjacent normal tissues. The expression of KLF8 was significantly associated with poorer overall survival. Overexpression of KLF8 enhanced the proliferation of both LNCap and 22Rv1 cells, while knockdown of endogenous KLF8 suppressed the proliferation. These manipulations exerted similar effects on the tumor volumes in the xenograft nude mouse model. Yeast two-hybrid screening revealed that KLF8 was a novel AR-interacting protein. With pull down assay and co-immunoprecipitation assay, we demonstrated that KLF8 bound directly to AR, and KLF8 enhanced AR target gene transcription.Conclusion:The results demonstrate that KLF8 is a novel AR transcriptional co-activator that is overexpressed in PCa and may play a role in progression of hormone-refractory PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-line (IL) vortex-induced vibration (VIV) that occurs frequently in ocean engineering may cause severe fatigue damage in slender marine structures. To the best knowledge of the authors, in existing literatures, there is no efficient analytical model for predicting pure IL VIV. In this paper, a wake oscillator model capable of analyzing the IL VIV of slender marine structures has been developed. Two different kinds of van der Pol equations are used to describe the near wake dynamics related to the fluctuating nature of symmetric vortex shedding in the first excitation region and alternate vortex shedding in the second one. Some comparisons are carried out between the present model results and experimental data. It is found that many phenomena observed in experiments could be reproduced by the present wake oscillator model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of the n-butanol extract of Rubus parvifolius L. (RPL), a widely used medicinal plant, were evaluated. Results demonstrated that RPL extract possessed pronounced hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride (CCl)-induced hepatic injury in mice, which was at least partially attributed to its strong antioxidant capacity. Treatment with RPL extract markedly attenuated the increases in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels caused by CCl intoxication. It also significantly prevented the decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content of liver tissue. Meanwhile, histopathological changes of hepatic damage were also remarkably ameliorated. Phytochemical analysis based on high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) revealed the presence of various phenolic compounds, including caffeic acid conjugates, ellagic acid glycosides, and flavonol glycosides, which might be responsible for the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of RPL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two schemes for controlled dense coding with a four-particle entangled state are investigated, one with entanglement concentration and the other with generalized measurement. In these protocols, the supervisor (Cliff) can control the average amount of information transmitted from the sender (Alice and David) to the receiver (Bob) only by adjusting his local measurement angle θ. It is shown that the results for the average amounts of information are unique from the different two schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a new wake oscillator model for vortex induced vibrations of an elastically supported rigid circular cylinder in a uniform current. The near wake dynamics related with the fluctuating nature of vortex shedding is modeled based on the classical van der Pol equation, combined with the equation for the oscillatory motion of the body. An appropriate approach is developed to estimate the empirical parameters in the wake oscillator model. The present predicted results are compared to the experimental data and previous wake oscillator model results. Good agreement with experimental results is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abundance of X chromosomes in testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), and a candidate TGCTs susceptibility gene ( TGCT1) on Xq27 highlight the potential involvement of X chromosomes in TGCT pathogenesis. However, the TGCT1 on Xq27 has so far not been identified. We hypothesized that a somatic mutation of dbl oncogene on Xq27 may play a role for the development of TGCTs. We have screened 41 TGCT tissues for dbl mutations using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. These tissues are composed of 25 seminomatous TGCTs tissues and 16 non-seminomatous TGCTs tissues, including two cases with a rhabdomyosarcoma component. Somatic mutations were not detected in the 25 exons of dbl in these TGCTs. However, we found a rare single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (T to C nucleotide change) within intron 22 in one out of the 41 TGCTs cases (2%). Furthermore, the sample with the rare SNP was identified as the sole TGCTs case associated with bilateral undescended testis in our series. Our results indicate that proto-oncogene dbl is not a major target for sporadic TGCTs. However, the rare SNP in dbl may affect the susceptibility to undescended testis. Determining the frequency of this SNP in patients with various types of undescended testis in different ethnic groups is a warranted study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]