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Objective To investigate the effect of artesunate (ART) on neuroinflammation in depressed mice by regulating the cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon gene (STING) pathway. Methods Mice were divided into model group, control group, low-dose ART group, high-dose ART group, fluoxetine group, and high-dose ART+RocA (cGAS-STING pathway activator) group. Sugar solution consumption experiment and forced swimming experiment were applied to evaluate the depressive behavior of mice; HE staining microscopy was applied to detect pathological changes in hippocampal tissue; ELISA method was applied to detect the level of interleukin-6(IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), serotonin(5-HT) and dopamine (DA); TUNEL staining microscopy was applied to detect neuronal apoptosis; Western blot was applied to detect Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), p53, cGAS, and STING proteins. Results Compared to the control group, the mice in the model group exhibited neuronal pustule degeneration, the sugar water consumption rate, level of 5-HT and DA decreased, the rest time of forced swimming increased. The level of IL-6 and TNF-α, neuronal apoptosis rate, expression of Bax, p53, cGAS, and STING proteins all elevated (P＜0.05); Compared with model group, the damage to hippocampus neurons in the ART low-dose group, ART high-dose group and fluoxetine group neuronal pustular degeneration was alleviated, while sugar water consumption rate, 5-HT, and DA levels increased, the rest time of forced swimming reduced, the level of IL-6 and TNF-α, neuronal apoptosis rate and the expression of Bax, p53, cGAS, and STING proteins reduced (P＜0.05); RocA reversed the improvement effect of high-dose ART on depression in mice. Conclusions ART inhibits neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis in depressed mice, and up-regulates amine neurotransmitters expression. The mechanism is potentially related to the blocking of cGAS-STING pathway.

ObjectiveTo develop and validate a multi-index nomogram prediction model for clinically significant prostate cancer(CSPCa) by combining the PI-RADS V2.1, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters and clinical indicators.MethodsA total of 1740 patients (75% in the derivation cohort and 25% in the internal validation cohort) and 342 patients (the external validation cohort) were retrospectively included in the MRI follow-up database of the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between January 2015 and April 2021,and Gejiu People’s Hospital between January 2020 and December 2022.Important predictors of CSPCa in MRI-related quantitative parameters, PSA-derived indicators, and clinical indicators, such as age, were screened. The Net Reclassification Improvement Index(NRI),Integrated Discrimination Improvement Index(IDI), and clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) were calculated to compare the performances of the different models. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves and clinical calibration curves were used to analyze and compare diagnostic effects.ResultsThe AUC value, best cut-off value, specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of model 1(PI-RADS + PSAD) derivation cohort were 0.935, 0.304, 0.861, 0.895 and 0.872, respectively. The AUC values of the internal and external validation cohorts for model 1 were 0.956 and 0.955, respectively. The AUC value, best cut-off value, specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of model 2(PI-RADS +PSAD + ADCmean) derivation cohort were 0.939, 0.401, 0.895, 0.853 and 0.882, respectively. The AUC values of the internal and external validation cohorts for model 2 were 0.940 and 0.960,respectively. After adding the ADCmean to the model, the NRI(categorical), NRI(continuous) and IDI values were 0.0154, 0.3498 and 0.0222, respectively. There was no significant difference between the predicted probability and actual probability (p> 0.05).ConclusionModels 1 and 2 had reliable, efficient and visual predictive value for CSPCa. The ADCmean is an important predictive indicator.

In order to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nano-capsules loaded with the isobutene sulfide (T321) in the internal cavity (CNTs@T321) were proposed as the reinforcing phase of PTFE. T321 can be released from the nano-capsules during friction to make PTFE have better lubrication properties. First, the effects of filling amount on the mechanical and tribological properties of PTFE composites were studied. The existing forms of nano-capsules in PTFE composites were analyzed, and the self-lubrication mechanism during friction was revealed. The results show that the tensile strength of PTFE can be improved when the content of nano-capsules is lower, and the strength of PTFE can be decreased when the mass fraction of nano-capsules exceeds 3%. Under different speeds and loads, the filling of nano-capsules can reduce the friction coefficient and wear rate of PTFE. The anti-friction effect are improved with the increase of load, while the wear rate will be increased. During the friction process, nano-capsules can release T321 with the wear of PTFE, and T321 forms a self-lubricating layer on the wear interface, thus producing anti-friction and anti-wear effects.

Purpose The malignant transformation of cells can lead to aerobic glycolysis, an important form of metabolic reprogramming in colon cancer cells, which can cause the accumulation of lactate and accelerate the proliferation of tumor cells also enhance their chemotherapy drug resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms responsible for the increased lactate expression in colon cancer. Methods Several bioinformatics methods, including differential analysis, gene ontology enrichment, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to find the lactic acid–related gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2. We analyzed the relationship between carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 and clinical features as well as immune microenvironment. To further explore the mechanism of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 in colon cancer, we performed methylation analysis and constructed a competitive endogenous RNA network, which was validated in cell lines and clinical specimens. Results We used bioinformatics to select the lactic acid–related gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 and found low expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 was associated with poor prognosis in colon cancer. An inhibitory tumor microenvironment was created when carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 expression was reduced, with decreased CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, dendritic cells, and B cells but increased cancer-associated fibroblasts. Methylation analysis showed that the abnormal decrease in carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 might be caused by hypermethylation. We constructed a network of SGMS1-AS1/microRNA-106a-5p/carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 and verified their expression in cell lines and clinical specimens. Conclusion Our work revealed the possible mechanism of lactate accumulation in colon cancer and explored a new potential treatment for colon cancer by cutting off aerobic glycolysis in tumor cells.

The side wall interference and disturbance reflection from the front end wall of a sealed chamber in an extremely low wind speed calibration facility operated by driving the probe in motion might have influence on the flow field inside the chamber,thus affecting the calibration accuracy.The moving overlapping grid technique is used in solving the URANS equations simulating the flow field in the chamber to investigate the effects of side-wall interference and the disturbance wave reflection from the front(upstream)end wall on the interior flow field and calibration.The flow fields in the cases with and without side walls are computed and compared.For the front end wall reflection of the strut rod disturbance,the boundary conditions with and without front end wall are used respectively in computing the flow field in the chamber,and the computed flow fields in the two cases are compared at several instants,respectively.The computed results show that the effects of velocity deviations caused by the wall interference and the front end wall reflection of disturbance on calibration accuracy are in an acceptable range.

One of the key problems to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil is to solve the dynamic stall.This paper presents a method to control the dynamic stall of airfoil by using the combination of leading-edge suction and trailing edge suction. The influence and control effect of pitch oscillation on the dynamic stall characteristics of airfoil are investigated. Taking NACA0012 airfoil as the research object, the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equation is solved based on the transition SST turbulence model, and the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil with different jet momentum coefficients are calculated, and the economy in the control process is evaluated. It is found that under the conditions of Mach number 0.109, reduction frequency 0.1, average angle of attack 14.84° and amplitude 9.89°, when the jet dynamic coefficient is 0.006 5, compared with the control without blowing and suction, the airfoil has no obvious stall phenomenon, the average lift coefficient increases by 59%, the average drag coefficient decreases by 40%, and the negative pitching moment peak is eliminated, which indicates that the combined blowing-suction flow control can suppress the dynamic stall and improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil.

Coalbed methane (CBM) development in coal mining area has good safety, economic and energy benefits, but methane emission is common in surface well sites. In view of this, taking the CBM wells in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province as an example, the methane emission location and emission volume of CBM wells are obtained, and the prediction model of methane emission volume is established through field investigation and multiple regression analysis. The results show that 81% of CBM wells have methane emission. Wellhead and drainage outlet are the two main positions of methane emission. The proportion of wells with emission volume between 0-10 m3/d is 59%. On the whole, the emission accounts for 1.53% of the gas well production. There is almost no methane emission in the single liquid phase flow stage. The methane emission in the gas-liquid two-phase flow stage is positively correlated with the bottom hole flow pressure, times of stroke and gas production, and negatively correlated with the pump embedment and water production. The bottom hole flow pressure and the pump embedment have the greatest impact on the methane emission. In the single-phase gas flow stage, methane emission is positively correlated with gas production and casing pressure, and negatively correlated with stroke frequency and water production.

The Chang 7 Member shale of the Upper Triassic Yanchang formation in the Ordos basin is a hot spot in petroleum geology research. In this study, considering the Chang 7 shale in the Yan’an area as an example, the full-scale pore size characterization of lacustrine shale was realized based on the scanning electron microscopy image gray correction method, nitrogen and carbon dioxide adsorptions, and high-pressure mercury intrusion tests. In addition, the pore structures and oil-bearing properties of the Chang 7 shale were systematically studied. The results show that the Chang 7 shale is rich in organic matter, with an average total organic carbon value of 4.69% and an average R 0 value of 0.9%. It is in the mature-wet gas (crude oil-associated gas) stage. There are certain differences in the development characteristics and pore size distribution of different types of pores in shale. The statistical results showed that the pore diameters of the intergranular pores and intragranular dissolved pores were significantly larger than the intercrystalline pores of clay minerals and the organic pores. The organic pores in solid bitumen are extremely developed, whereas the organic pores in kerogen are relatively underdeveloped. The lower limit of the effective pore size of shale is 20 nm. The network system composed of inorganic pores-microcracks-organic matter-organic pores and siltstone laminae provides important channels and retention spaces for the migration of shale oil and gas within the source. This study found that the proportion of movable oil in sandy layers is relatively high, followed by shale with sandy laminae, whereas pure shale has the lowest proportion of movable oil. Therefore, the degree of sandy laminar development, the abundance of organic matter, and the degree of thermal evolution are the key geological factors that control the porosity and oil-bearing properties of shale oil reservoirs.

Silicone rubber is widely used in composite insulators and anti-pollution flashover coatings in the power industry. However,after long-term operation,it is prone to aging chalking and dirt deposition,which reduces the surface hydrophobicity. Hundreds of millions of silicone rubber insulators are in service for many years in the power grid,and it is urgent to study a new type of cleaning agent that can remove surface contamination and repair the aging layer of silicone rubber. The effects of different non-ionic surfactant content and repair agent content on cleaning efficiency and hydrophobicity were investigated. Experiments show that when the content of non-ionic surfactant is 3%,the cleaning efficiency is up to 95%. When the content of the repairing agent is 11%,the hydrophobicity is the best,and its hydrophobic migration can reach the HC1 level. Through scanning electron microscopy analysis,it is found that the micropores and cracks on the surface of the silicone rubber disappear after cleaning,and the surface is smooth,indicating that the cleaning agent has the ability of removing the aging layer and contamination,and repairing the aging insulators. This provides a theoretical and practical basis for continuing to develop silicone rubber clean-repairing agents and extending the service life of insulators.

In order to study the law of surface movement and deformation under conditions of aeolian sand cover, thick bedrock and large mining depth in Ordos Area, a surface movement observation station was carried out on the corresponding surface of Muduchaideng 30201 and 30202 working faces. After collating and calculating the measured data, surface subsidence characteristics under this geological mining condition are analyzed. Results show that, due to the large mining depth, surface subsidence basin is characterized by smaller edge slope, gentler edge slope and less obvious “basin-shaped” basin. Due to the influence of many groups of thick and hard sandstone layers, the boundary angle value is small and the influence range of surface subsidence is large. The deformation intensity is mainly concentrated in the mining working face corresponding to the upper surface.

[Objectives] Coating on the surface of ships is a common method of ship anti-corrosion. The corrosion resistance of the coating directly reflects the corrosion degree of the ship's surface. Although coating has been used as an effective anti-corrosion technology on ships for decades,there has been a lack of rapid and effective test methods for the corrosion resistance of the coating.[Methods] In this paper,a reasonable equivalent circuit model of the coating system was established,and the salt-fog aging and UV aging coating performance experiments were carried out on the test coating by AC impedance testing technology. The Matlab data processing software was used to calculate and analyze the experimental results.[Results] The parameters of each equivalent component in the coating system were obtained to evaluate the performance of the coating,and the electrochemical evaluation criteria for coating aging failure were established.[Conclusions] The results of salt-fog aging and UV aging coating performance experiments show that the performance of the coating can be comprehensively evaluated quickly and accurately based on the AC impedance technique and the corresponding electrochemical evaluation parameters.

BackgroundRadioactive oil is one of the organic "difficult wastes" produced by the operation of nuclear power plants.PurposeThis study aims to develop a nuclide separation and treatment technology for radioactive waste oil and explore engineering application.MethodsFirst of all, a set of radioactive oil nuclide separation and purification treatment engineering equipments was developed and applied to obtain test samples collected from one NPP. Then a nuclide separation and purification process based on the oxidative aging method were developed. Finally, the high-purity germanium for nuclide γ spectrometer was employed to measure 58Co, 60Co, 54Mn, 110mAg, 137Cs, 134Cs, 124Sb, 125Sb, 59Fe, 95Zr, 95N, etc., γ nuclides, low background liquid scintillation counter was applied to the measurement of 3H and 14C, and high sensitive automatic liquid scintillation counter was used to measure 55Fe and 63Ni. Total α and total β were obtained by using low background α/β measuring instrument. [Results and Conclusions] The results show that the decontamination coefficient of the oxidative aging process reaches more than 2 orders of magnitude; the radioactive oil treated by the engineering device amounts to the clearance level, hence can be managed as ordinary hazardous waste. The additional dose that may be caused in the process of incineration (including transportation) for the treated radioactive oil is far below the dose limits, which meets the dosage guidelines for reuse, and is in line with waste minimization principles.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) can improve the quality of life of patients with kidney disease and prolong survival. However, peritoneal fibrosis can often occur and lead to PD withdrawal. Therefore, it is imperative to better understand how to inhibit and slow down progression of peritoneal fibrosis. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of Saikosaponin d (SSD), a monomer extracted from the plant Bupleurum, on peritoneal fibrosis and the contribution of TGFβ1/BMP7/Gremlin1 pathway cross-talk in this process. To this aim, we used a model 5/6 nephrectomy and peritoneal fibrosis in rats. Rats were divided into four groups, namely a control group (saline administration); a model group (dialysate administration; group M); a SSD group (dialysate and SSD administration); and a positive drug group (dialysate and Benazepril Hydrochloride administration; group M + A). Histological analysis indicated that peritoneal fibrosis occurred in all groups. WB, ELISA, and PCR essays suggested that TGFβ1 and Gremlin1 levels in group M were significantly higher than those in group C, whereas BMP7 expression was significantly lower. TGFβ1, Gremlin1 and BMP7 levels were significantly lower in the group where SSD was administered than in the other groups. The expression of BMP7 in SSD group was significantly increased. In addition, levels of Smad1/5/8 as assessed by PCR, and levels of p-Smad1/5/8 expression as assessed by WB were also significantly higher in the SSD group than in the M group. Expression of vimentin and α-SMA, two important markers of fibrosis, was also significantly decreased. Our study suggests a role for the TGFβ1/BMP7/Gremlin1/Smad pathway in peritoneal fibrosis with potential therapeutic implications. Finally, our results also suggest that the monomer SSD may be able to reverse peritoneal fibrosis via regulation of the TGFβ1/BMP7/Gremlin1/Smad pathway.

The objective of this preclinical study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of transcatheter endocardial alginate hydrogel injection (TEAi) in a large animal model, utilizing the high-stiffness XDROP® alginate hydrogel in combination with the dedicated EndoWings® catheter-based system. All swine (n = 9) successfully underwent TEAi without complications. Acute results from a subset of animals (n = 5) demonstrated the ability of the catheter to access a wide range of endomyocardial areas and achieve consecutive circumferential hydrogel distribution patterns within the mid-left ventricular wall. Histological examinations at 6 months (n = 4) demonstrated that the XDROP® remained localized within the cardiac tissue. In addition, serial echocardiographic imaging showed that XDROP® had no adverse impacts on LV systolic and diastolic functions. In conclusion, this innovative combination technology has the potential to overcome the translational barriers related to alginate hydrogel delivery to the myocardium.

Efficient selective extraction of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) from as-synthesized SWCNTs is essential for their electronic and photovoltaic applications. In this study, we used a relatively simple copolymer backbone structure of poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-thiophene] (PFT) for the selective extraction of s-SWCNTs from HiPCO SWCNTs. The absorption and Raman spectroscopies indicated that the PFT-sorted s-SWCNTs had high purity which was far beyond the sensitivity of the spectrometers. Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy showed that PFT mainly extracted the chiralities of (n,m)=(9,5), (8,6), (7,5), and (10,5) s-SWCNTs with the ratios of about 53.1%, 24.8%, 11.5%, and 10.5%, respectively. Both steady-state and transient optical spectroscopies suggested that there was a strong interaction between PFT and s-SWCNTs. Molecular dynamics simulation results agreed well with the experimental data. Additionally, the photoinduced energy transfer behavior of the PFT-wrapped s-SWCNT resultant hybrid was assessed. This work indicated that the prepared PFT-wrapped s-SWCNT hybrid material was attractive for organic photovoltaic devices.

The Unmanned Surface Vehicle(USV)is one of the hot research fields of unmanned vehicle, and its launch and recovery technology has become a frontier research topic due to the difficulties in recovery guidance,docking,coupling or uncoupling and so on. Through collecting and sorting out the technical points of the launch and recovery technology for USV that has existed and been under development in domestic and abroad,this paper concludes with three kinds of launch and recovery systems,i.e. davit,stern ramp and dock cabin. Then the comparison among these three kinds is carried out in aspects of equipment configuration,space demand,wave influence,mothership speed,adaptive sea state,operation condition,launch and recovery duration,etc.,and then it is concluded that the stern ramp type is more suitable for the USV;in the meanwhile,practical research direction that contributes to realizing autonomous launch and recovery is pointed out,which plays a guiding role in the development of the USV and its launch and recovery technology.

A method for joint measuring the power law exponent and the structure constant of atmospheric turbulence is proposed and examined. The measurements are equivalent to solve the simultaneous equations formed by the irradiance scintillation index and the angle-of-arrival fluctuations variance, where the measured parameters are regarded as the unknowns. The measured error analysis is also presented. Based on our proposed method, the measured results accord with the daily trend of atmospheric turbulence.