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Modeling of fluid flow in porous media is a pillar in geoscience applications. Previous studies have revealed that heterogeneity and fracture distribution have considerable influence on fluid flow. In this work, a numerical investigation of two-phase flow in heterogeneous fractured reservoir is presented. First, the discrete fracture model is implemented based on a hybrid-dimensional modeling approach, and an equivalent continuum approach is integrated in the model to reduce computational cost. A multilevel adaptive strategy is devised to improve the numerical robustness and efficiency. It allows up to 4-levels adaption, where the adaptive factors can be modified flexibly. Then, numerical tests are conducted to verify the the proposed method and to evaluate its performance. Different adaptive strategies with 3-levels, 4-levels and fixed time schemes are analyzed to evaluate the computational cost and convergence history. These evaluations demonstrate the merits of this method compared to the classical method. Later, the heterogeneity in permeability field, as well as initial saturation, is modeled in a layer model, where the effect of layer angle and permeability on fluid flow is investigated. A porous medium containing multiple length fractures with different distributions is simulated. The fine-scale fractures are upscaled based on the equivalent approach, while the large-scale fractures are retained. The conductivity of the rock matrix is enhanced by the upscaled fine-scale fractures. The difference of hydraulic property between homogeneous and heterogeneous situations is analyzed. It reveals that the heterogeneity may influence fluid flow and production, while these impacts are also related to fracture distribution and permeability.

Monitoring roof stress is essential for identifying structural anomalies and preventing disasters during underground construction. However, current sensors mainly focus on monitoring in one dimension, and it is challenging to obtain the mechanical status of the overall roof owing to the limitations of sensor numbers and the working environment. Therefore, we aimed to present an overall sensing method for the three-dimensional stress status of a roadway roof through machine learning (ML) based on limited monitoring points. First, the framework of the overall sensing method was developed, where a three-dimensional stress sensor was created to obtain the mechanical behaviours of some sensitive positions, and an ML model driven by the physical mechanism and limited monitoring data was developed to derive the overall stress situation. The developed sensor was installed in a case study, and the ML model was formulated based on the field-monitoring data. A series of experiments were conducted to derive the stress distribution of the roadway roof in the study case. Furthermore, a numerical simulation was conducted to compare the reasonability of the deduction results. The experimental results indicated that the deduction results of roof stress were reasonable, and thus the proposed sensing method is reliable.

The most recent spectroscopic studies of moving-single bubble sonoluminescence (MSBSL) and multi-bubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) have revealed that hydrated electrons ( e aq − ) are generated in MSBSL but absent in MBSL. To explore the mechanism of this phenomenon, we numerically simulate the ionization processes in single- and multi-bubble sonoluminescence in aqueous solution of terbium chloride (TbCl3). The results show that the maximum degree of ionization of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) is approximately 10000 times greater than that of MBSL under certain special physical parameters. The hydrated electrons ( e aq − ) formed in SBSL are far more than those in MBSL provided these electrons are ejected from a bubble into a liquid. Therefore, the quenching of e aq − to SBSL spectrum is stronger than that of the MBSL spectrum. This may be the reason that the trivalent terbium [Tb(III)] ion line intensities from SBSL in the TbCl3 aqueous solutions with the acceptor of e aq − are stronger than those of TbCl3 aqueous solutions without the acceptor of e aq − . Whereas the Tb(III) ion line intensities from MBSL are not variational, which is significant for exploring the mechanism behind the cavitation and sonoluminescence.

Objective To identify the willingness of medical undergraduates to work as volunteers for fighting COVID-19 and effect factors of willingness to volunteer. Methods A cross-sectional online questionnaire survey which consisted of three sections with 26 items was conducted. The primary outcome was the willingness to volunteer. Descriptive analysis was used for the results of characteristics, a univariant analysis was performed by chi-square test and a multivariate analysis was performed by multivariate logistic regression. Results A total of 5499 questionnaires were issued and 5379 effective questionnaires were finally recovered. There were 1797 males (33.4%) and 3582 females (66.6%), with an average age of 20±1.5 years old. 3553(66.1%) students wanted to volunteer. Male was associated with less adjusted OR (0.68, 0.56 to 0.81) for willingness. The undergraduates in school of public health was most (3.81, 2.26 to 6.40) willing to work. The undergraduates who had often participated in voluntary activities but not regularly was 3.23(2.03-5.16) times more willing than those that never participate. Conclusion It suggested that medical educators should emphasize voluntary activities in undergraduate medical education and continue to insistence of medical humanities and public health education to improve the social responsibility and professional identity of medical undergraduates.

Background Thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (TRAP) is a transmembrane protein that plays a crucial role during the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum into liver cells. As a potential malaria vaccine candidate, the genetic diversity and natural selection of PfTRAP was assessed and the global PfTRAP polymorphism pattern was described. Methods 153 blood spot samples from Bioko malaria patients were collected during 2016–2018 and the target TRAP gene was amplified. Together with the sequences from database, nucleotide diversity and natural selection analysis, and the structural prediction were preformed using bioinformatical tools. Results A total of 119 Bioko PfTRAP sequences were amplified successfully. On Bioko Island, PfTRAP shows its high degree of genetic diversity and heterogeneity, with π value for 0.01046 and Hd for 0.99. The value of dN–dS (6.2231, p PfTRAP on Bioko Island. Globally, the African PfTRAPs showed more diverse than the Asian ones, and significant genetic differentiation was discovered by the fixation index between African and Asian countries (Fst > 0.15, p 1) indicated a destabilization of protein structure. Conclusions Evidences in the present investigation supported that PfTRAP gene from Bioko Island and other malaria endemic countries is highly polymorphic (especially at T cell epitopes), which provided the genetic information background for developing an PfTRAP-based universal effective vaccine. Moreover, some mutations have been shown to be detrimental to the protein structure or function and deserve further study and continuous monitoring.

Purpose Hypertension is a global public issue, and sleep status was regarded as its risk factor; however, the results were inconsistent. This study aims to deeply investigate the correlation between sleep status and hypertension. Methods The electronic databases Cochrane Library, Pubmed, and Embase updated to May 31, 2019, were retrieved. Studies were selected according to the predefined screening criteria, and their qualities were assessed by using quality check scales. Based on Stata 15.1 software, the associations between sleep status and hypertension were analyzed by meta-analyses, using odds ratio and 95% confidence interval as effect indexes. Furthermore, publication bias and small study bias were evaluated using Begg and Egger’s test. In addition, sensitivity analysis was conducted through ignoring one study per time and then observing its influences on the pooled results. Results A total of 54 studies (involving 1,074,207 subjects) were eligible for this meta-analysis. Six factors were included in this study. Raised blood pressure was associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), short sleep duration, and long sleep duration. The differences in ≤ 5 h, 6 h, ≥ 9 h, and 10 h groups had statistical significances, while there was no significant difference in ≥ 8 h group. Snoring is a risk factor of hypertension (OR = 1.94, 95%CI 1.41–2.67). Subgroup analysis was conducted and results were varied. Conclusions The hypertension risk might be reduced by treated OSA, ODI, and snoring, as well as appropriate sleep duration. More studies with large sample sizes and high qualities should be included to support the findings further. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11325-019-01907-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is one of the most effective drugs for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), and induces the degradation of chimeric oncoprotein PML/RARα (P/R) and APL cell differentiation. Recent evidence has suggested that P/R fusion protein degradation by arsenic occurs through two steps, namely, rapid solubility change/shift of the P/R fusion protein following arsenic treatment (i.e., transfer of P/R protein from the soluble fraction to the insoluble pellet fraction), and subsequent degradation of these insoluble proteins. However, there is little information regarding the reversibility of arsenic induced P/R fusion protein solubility change as well as protein degradation in the insoluble fraction after removing arsenic. In this study, we used APL cell line NB4 or P/R and PML over-expressed 293T cells as well as HeLa cells to reveal the solubility change of P/R and PML by arsenic exposure, and further determined the fate of these insoluble proteins after the removal of arsenic. Here, for the first time, we found that arsenic induced P/R or PML protein solubility change is an irreversible process. Once arsenic induces a P/R or PML protein solubility change, these insoluble proteins could be degraded by the proteasomal pathway even without continuous arsenic treatment. However, PML and P/R proteins can be newly synthesized after the removal of arsenic, suggesting that great caution should be taken in the clinical therapy of APL patients before ending arsenic treatment.

Background Although glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common inherited disorder in the Chinese population, there is scarce evidence regarding the epidemiology, evolutionary origin, and malaria‐induced positive selection effects of G6PD‐deficient alleles in various Chinese ethnic populations. Methods We performed a large population‐based screening (n = 15,690) to examine the impact of selection on human nucleotide diversity and to infer the evolutionary history of the most common deficiency alleles in Chinese populations. Results The frequencies of G6PD deficiency ranged from 0% to 11.6% in 12 Chinese ethnic populations. A frequency map based on geographic information showed that G6PD deficiency was highly correlated with historical malaria prevalence in China and was affected by altitude and latitude. The five most frequently occurring G6PD gene variants were NM_001042351.3:c.1376G>T, NM_001042351.3:c.1388G>A, NM_001042351.3:c.95A>G, NM_001042351.3:c.1311T>C, and NM_001042351.3:c.1024C>T, which were distributed with ethnic features. A pathogenic but rarely reported variant site (NM_001042351.3:c.448G>A) was identified in this study. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a strong and recent positive selection targeting the NM_001042351.3:c.1376G>T allele that originated in the past 3125 to 3750 years and another selection targeting the NM_001042351.3:c.1388G>A allele that originated in the past 5000 to 6000 years. Additionally, both alleles originated from a single ancestor. Conclusion These results indicate that malaria has had a major impact on the Chinese genome since the introduction of rice agriculture., Strong and recent positive selection have targeted on the c.1376 G>T allele with the past 3125–3750 years and c.1388 G>A allele with the past 5000–6000 years. Malaria has had a major impact on Chinese genome since the introduction of rice agriculture.

Background Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) is a potential malaria vaccine candidate, but various polymorphisms of the pfcsp gene among global P. falciparum population become the major barrier to the effectiveness of vaccines. This study aimed to investigate the genetic polymorphisms and natural selection of pfcsp in Bioko and the comparison among global P. falciparum population. Methods From January 2011 to December 2018, 148 blood samples were collected from P. falciparum infected Bioko patients and 96 monoclonal sequences of them were successfully acquired and analysed with 2200 global pfcsp sequences mined from MalariaGEN Pf3k Database and NCBI. Results In Bioko, the N-terminus of pfcsp showed limited genetic variations and the numbers of repetitive sequences (NANP/NVDP) were mainly found as 40 (35%) and 41 (34%) in central region. Most polymorphic characters were found in Th2R/Th3R region, where natural selection (p > 0.05) and recombination occurred. The overall pattern of Bioko pfcsp gene had no obvious deviation from African mainland pfcsp (Fst = 0.00878, p pfcsp displayed the various mutation patterns and obvious geographic differentiation among populations from four continents (p pfcsp C-terminal sequences were clustered into 138 different haplotypes (H_1 to H_138). Only 3.35% of sequences matched 3D7 strain haplotype (H_1). Conclusions The genetic polymorphism phenomena of pfcsp were found universal in Bioko and global isolates and the majority mutations located at T cell epitopes. Global genetic polymorphism and geographical characteristics were recommended to be considered for future improvement of malaria vaccine design.

Background Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) is a potential malaria vaccine candidate, but various genetic polymorphisms of PfCSP among global P. falciparum population become the major barrier to the effectiveness of vaccines. This study aimed to investigate the genetic polymorphisms and natural selection of PfCSP in Bioko and the comparison among global P. falciparum population.Methods From January 2011 to December 2018, 148 blood samples were collected from P. falciparum infected Bioko patients and 96 monoclonal sequences of them were successfully acquired and analyzed with 2200 global PfCSP sequences mined from MalariaGEN Pf3k Database and NCBI. Results In Bioko, the N-terminus of PfCSP showed limited genetic variations and the numbers of repetitive sequences (NANP/NVDP) were mainly found as 40 (35%) and 41 (34%) in central region. Most polymorphic characters were found in Th2R/Th3R region, where natural selection (p>0.05) and recombination occurred. The overall pattern of Bioko PfCSP gene had no obvious deviation from African mainland PfCSP (Fst=0.00878, p. The comparative analysis of Bioko and global PfCSP displayed the various mutation patterns and obvious geographic differentiation among populations from four continents (pPfCSP C-terminal sequences were clustered into 138 different haplotypes (H_1 to H_138). Only 3.35% of sequences matched 3D7 strain haplotype (H_1). Conclusions The genetic polymorphism phenomena of PfCSP were found universal in Bioko and global isolates and the majority mutations located at T cell epitopes. Global genetic polymorphism and geographical characteristics were recommended to be considered for future improvement of malaria vaccine design.

Recently, the dynamical behaviors of coupled neural networks (CNNs) with and without reaction–diffusion terms have been widely researched due to their successful applications in different fields. This article introduces some important and interesting results on this topic. First, synchronization, passivity, and stability analysis results for various CNNs with and without reaction–diffusion terms are summarized, including the results for impulsive, time-varying, time-invariant, uncertain, fuzzy, and stochastic network models. In addition, some control methods, such as sampled-data control, pinning control, impulsive control, state feedback control, and adaptive control, have been used to realize the desired dynamical behaviors in CNNs with and without reaction–diffusion terms. In this article, these methods are summarized. Finally, some challenging and interesting problems deserving of further investigation are discussed.

Backgroud RTS, S/AS01 is a Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein ( PfCSP ) based anti-malaria vaccine, but various genetic polymorphisms of PfCSP among global P. falciparum population could lead to mismatch against the PfCSP - based vaccine and reduce vaccine efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the genetic polymorphisms and natural selection of PfCSP in Bioko as well as global P. falciparum population. Methods From January 2011 to December 2018, 148 blood samples were collected from P. falciparum infected Bioko patients and 96 monoclonal sequences of them were successfully acquired and analyzed with 2200 global PfCSP sequences mined from MalariaGEN Pf3k Database and NCBI. Results In Bioko, the N-terminus of PfCSP showed limited genetic variations and the numbers of repetitive sequences (NANP/NVDP) were mainly found as 40 (35%) and 41 (34%) in central region. Most polymorphic characters were found in Th2R/Th3R region, where natural selection (p>0.05) and recombination occurred. The overall pattern of Bioko PfCSP gene had no obvious deviation from African mainland PfCSP (Fst=0.00878, pPfCSP displayed the various mutation patterns and obvious geographic differentiation among populations from four continents (pPfCSP C-terminal sequences were clustered into 138 different haplotypes (H_1 to H_138). Only 3.35% of sequences matched 3D7 vaccine strain haplotype (H_1). Conclusions The genetic polymorphism phenomena of PfCSP were found universal. The overall vaccine efficacy might be influenced by the low proportion of vaccine-matched isolates in global parasites population. Genetic polymorphism and geographical characteristics should be considered for future improvement of RTS, S/AS01.

Background Glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is an essential enzyme that protects red blood cells from oxidative damage. Although G6PD‐deficient alleles appear to confer a protective effect of malaria, the link with clinical protection against Plasmodium infection is conflicting. Methods A case–control study was conducted on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea and further genotyping analysis used to detect natural selection of the G6PD A‐ allele. Results Our results showed G6PD A‐ allele could significantly reduce the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in male individuals (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20–0.93; p, In this work, we firstly analysed a large case–control study of 342 malaria cases and 1,287 health controls on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Our findings demonstrate G6PD A‐ allele could reduce the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in African population and indicate malaria has recent positive selection on G6PD A‐ allele.

We demonstrate tandem organic light-emitting diodes (TOLEDs) with excellent performance using Al and MoO3 buffer-modified C60/pentacene as charge generation layer (CGL). Al and MoO3 were used as the electron and hole injection layers of C60/pentacene CGL, respectively. Green phosphorescence TOLEDs with the structure of ITO/NPB/mCP:Ir(ppy)3/TPBi/Al/C60/pentacene/MoO3/NPB/mCP:Ir(ppy)3/TPBi/Cs2CO3/Al were fabricated. The results show that the inserted Al and MoO3 can effectively increase the charge injection capacity of organic CGL, resulting the improvement of luminance and current efficiency of TOLEDs. The turn-on voltage of TOLEDs is much lower than that of single-unit device, and the current efficiency is more than 2 times larger than that of the single-unit device. TOLEDs can exhibit excellent photoelectric performance when the thicknesses of Al, C60, pentacene and MoO3 are 3 nm, 15 nm, 25 nm and 1 nm, respectively. The maximum luminance and current efficiency are 7 920.0 cd/m2 and 16.4 cd/A, respectively. This work is significant to build new CGL structures for realizing high-performance TOLEDs.

Cracking in quasi-brittle geomaterials is a complex mechanical phenomenon, driven by various dissipation mechanisms across multiple length scales. While some recent promising works have employed the phase-field method to model the damage and fracture of geomaterials, several open questions still remain. In particular, capturing frictional sliding along the lips of microcracks , incorporating lower scale physics, and calibrating the length scale parameter, are some examples. The present paper addresses these essential problems. By leveraging homogenization-based damage-friction coupling formulations for microcracked solids, the linkage is built between the macroscopic phase-field damage variable and the microcrack density parameter. The phase-field is thus treated not only as an indicator for the location of cracks but also accounts for the density of microcracks. A unified Helmholtz free energy function is then constructed as a sum of the bulk energy ( including elastic strain energy and plastic free energy) and the crack surface energy. Furthermore, a new set of degradation functions for the plastic free energy are provided, and a calibration procedure for the length scale parameter is proposed by reflecting a more realistic description of fracture process zone. In addition, an accelerated staggered iteration algorithm is developed to solve the strongly coupled problem more efficiently. Four numerical examples concerning a system of macroscopic cracks are investigated to illustrate the predictive capability of the proposed model in simulating tensile fracture, fault slippage and shear bands.

A wedge-shaped hopper is frequently utilized as a tube feeder in the electric heater process. When falling from a wedge-shaped hopper, the tubes often form an arch near the outlet and stop the feeding process since a pile of tubes pass through a small hopper outlet one by one. This research aims to investigate the effect of process factors on the tube feeding process by applying Taguchi’s method and to design a wedge-shaped hopper that never jams. Chosen process factors are the wall angle of the hopper, outlet width of the hopper, number of test tubes, vibration strength of the vibrators and tube materials. Experimental results show that a large wall angle, a wide hopper outlet, a few tubes and a weak vibration are optimal settings. The wall angle and the outlet width of the hopper are more influential to reduce the jamming for all tube materials. A hopper that hardly jams can be designed by using optimum conditions.

Artemisinin (ART) combination therapies were introduced on malaria endemic Bioko Island in 2004 through Bioko Island Malaria Control Project. Recently, ART-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strain with Kelch13 (K13) propeller M579I mutation originating from Equatorial Guinea was observed as an increased parasite clearance time on day 3 after dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine (DHA-PIP) treatment (D3 positivity). Here, we surveyed DHA-PIP effectiveness and molecular markers of drug resistance at D3 after DHA-PIP treatment on Bioko Island from 2014 to 2017. Among the 371 uncomplicated P. falciparum patients, 86.3% (320/471) were successfully followed up at D3. 5.9% (19/320) of patients showed D3 positivity. K13 and MDR1 gene were successfully sequenced from 46 patients collected at D0 (baseline population) and 19 D3-positivity patients. Five non-synonymous K13 mutations (H136N; K189N; K248N; K326E; K332N) were found. There was no statistical difference in the frequency of these K13 mutations between baseline population and D3-positivity samples (p>0.05). Additionally, none of the K13 propeller polymorphisms known to be involved in ART-resistance in Asia or Africa were detected. For MDR1 gene, 38.5% (25/65) carried N86Y mutation; 73.8% (48/65) the Y184F mutation. Parasites surviving DHA-PIP at D3 post-treatment were significantly more likely than the baseline population to carry the N86Y (p in vitro and in vivo monitoring for ART derivatives and ACT partner drugs should be regularly performed on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

As a widely used reinforcement method in tunnel engineering, the accuracy of models in numerical analysis has a vital influence on the reliability of the analysis results. To solve the problem of hard modeling for complicated models, this paper proposes to build models of different characteristics automatically by the means of Enterprise Knowledge Language (EKL) of CATIA, combining knowledge engineering template with parameterization. Furthermore, the stability of surrounding rocks and the distribution features of plastic areas were studied in different cases by CATIA-ABAQUS model. Besides, the effects and contributions of several parameters, including the rock-bolt diameter and interval between rock-bolts have been studied. It was found that: (1) Rock-bolt has a notable effect on the stability of the surrounding rocks. Increasing the diameter of rock-bolts contributes to significantly reduce the plastic area and the vertical displacement. With the increase of the quantity and the diameter of anchors, the degree of influence gradually weakens, showing the logarithmic relationship; (2) When the quantity and diameter of rock-bolts are constant, in the case in which the intervals between rock-bolts are various, the plastic area of surrounding rocks and the axial stress of rock-bolts are larger than that of the same distance, while the vertical displacement are uniform. (3) The excavation process has a great influence on the axial stress of rock-bolts and the redistribution of stresses in the surrounding rock.

Underground powerhouse caverns, which are large-scale, complex-type, and intersecting circuits, are considered as a complicated, constrained, and irreversible nonlinear system. They are divided into several layers for excavation. Various stress states occur whenever they are subjected to excavation; therefore, deformation and failure arise because of stress redistribution and concentration. Based on the determinate excavation scheme, the sectional shape of underground powerhouse caverns, especially the aspect ratio of the main powerhouse, is the key factor that affects the stability of the surrounding rock masses. Furthermore, during the excavation process, the integrity and stability of rock pillar, whose thickness is determined by the interval of caverns, are considered as crucial issues, because damage occurs in the thinner rock pillar. Consequently, the interval of caverns is the important parameter that needs to be investigated. In this study, we combine building information modeling with numerical analysis to investigate the effect of the aspect ratio of the main powerhouse and the interval between the main powerhouse and the main transform chamber. For the Suki Kinari (SK) underground powerhouse caverns, the 3D terrain and geological model was created in accordance with the detailed geological information. The parameterized underground powerhouse model and the supporting system were designed by CATIA, and the numerical model that involves the excavation scheme was generated by ABAQUS. The results show the following: (1) As the aspect ratio increases, the deformation of the main powerhouse exhibits various features, indicating that the arch crown settlement reduces while the deformation of the sidewalls increases. (2) As the aspect ratio increases, the overall deformation of the particular parts exhibits the characteristic of rapidly decreasing and then gradually forming a convergent trend. (3) Intense disturbance occurs on the rock pillar because of bidirectional unloading during the excavation process, and the rock pillar weakens rapidly and then gradually stabilizes as the thickness increases, suggesting the property of exponential function of the total deformation. Finally, the conclusions are applied on the SK underground powerhouse caverns to reveal the optimal aspect ratio and interval.

The stability of surrounding rock will be poor when the tunnel is excavated through nearly horizontal stratum. In this paper, the instability mechanism of local nearly horizontal stratum in super-large section and deep buried tunnel is revealed by the analysis of the macro failure and micro fracture. A structural model is proposed to explain the mechanics of surrounding rock collapse under the action of stress redistribution and shed light on the macroscopic analytical approach of the stability of surrounding rock. Then, some highly effective formulas applied in the tunnel engineering are developed according to the theory of mixed-mode micro fracture. And well-documented field case is made to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed analytical methods of mixed-mode fracture. Meanwhile, in order to make the more accurate judgment about yield failure of rock mass, a series of comprehensive failure criteria are formed. In addition, the relationship between the nonlinear failure criterion and KI and KII of micro fracture is established to make the surrounding rock failure criterion more comprehensive and accurate. Further, the influence of the parameters related to the tension-shear mixed-mode fracture and compressionshear mixed-mode fracture on the propagation of rock crack is analyzed. Results show that σ3 changes linearly with the change of σ1. And the change rate is related to β, angle between the cracks and σ1. The proposed simple analytical approach is economical and efficient, and suitable for the analysis of local nearly horizontal stratum in super-large section and deep buried tunnel.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of different doses of rifaximin in Chinese patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods This random prospective study included a screening visit, a 2-week treatment period and a subsequent 4-week observation phase. Patients with liver cirrhosis were randomly assigned to a low-dose rifaximin group, a high-dose rifaximin group and the control group in a ratio of 1:1:1. The low-dose and high-dose groups received 400 mg or 600 mg rifaximin per 12 h for 2 weeks, respectively. All other therapeutic strategies remained unchanged in the three groups as long as possible. Results In total, 60 patients with liver cirrhosis were screened and 43 of them met the eligibility criteria. After 2-week treatment serum endotoxin levels in the low-dose (1.1 ± 0.8 EU/mL) and high-dose rifaximin groups (1.0 ± 0.8 EU/mL) were significantly lower than that in the control group (2.5 ± 1.8 EU/mL), while no significant difference was found between the two rifaximin-treated groups. The effect of high-dose rifaximin on endotoxemia lasted for at least 4 weeks after drug withdrawal. A significant reduction in the abundance of the Veillonellaceae taxa and an increase in the abundance of Bacteroidaceae were shown after 2 weeks of rifaximin therapy. The incidence of adverse events and severe adverse events was similar among the three groups. Conclusion Low-dose (800 mg/day) rifaximin could be analogous to high-dose (1200 mg/day) rifaximin to reduce the serum endotoxin level after 2 weeks of treatment.

The MgO thin films are deposited at various inclined angles. The morphology investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows the MgO thin films deposited at high inclined angles have columnar grain. The relationships between full width high maximum (FWHM) of ω-scan, residual stresses and the inclined angles are studied. The results show the smallest FWHM of MgO (002) is 4.968°, the residual stress of MgO thin films is compressive stress, and the residual stress of MgO thin films deposited at the inclined angle of 55° is the smallest. So the microstructures of MgO thin films fabricated by the oblique angle deposition (OAD) technique effectively control the residual stresses.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 15 and 17, t(15;17), resulting in the expression of PML-RARα fusion protein, which disrupts the normal PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) to micro-speckled pattern, leading to loss of their original functions. Moreover, reformation of PML-NBs in APL by arsenic is considered as one of the important step for APL treatment. Leptomycin B (LMB), a nuclear export inhibitor, is commonly used to inhibit the proteins exporting from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. In the present study, we found that LMB could induce the reformation of PML-NBs in leukemia NB4 cells as well as in APL blast cells from the patients, implying that nuclear shuttle proteins might be involved in the reformation of PML-NBs. Herein, we further found that LMB totally lost the ability to induce PML-NBs reformation when the endogenous PML gene was knocked out, indicating that endogenous PML protein is probably involved in the reformation of PML-NBs. More interestingly, among all PML isoforms (i.e., seven isoforms), reformation of PML-NBs was only observed when co-transfection of PML-RARα with PML-I after LMB treatment. Similarly, deletion of nuclear export signal (NES) of PML-I could also reform PML-NBs, suggesting that the protein level of endogenous PML-I in nucleus is important for the reformation of PML-NBs that interfered by PML-RARα fusion protein. Additionally, LMB has synergistic effect with iAsIII on enhancing PML-RARα fusion protein degradation, and it might provide new insight into APL treatment at clinical level in the near future.

This paper mainly introduces a Cirloc3D-vision location method used in robot tube plate welding. The visual position system uses a point laser sensor to measure the photo height, and can through three points to ensure a place to correct the camera posture. The captured image is used to extract the location information by the template matching method and searching the center of a circle's method. Then the information is sent to the robot and leads the robot to run to the specified position. Finally the welding gun at the end of the robot begins to perform the precision welding of the tube plate. This method is fast and accurate, so it can provide accurate position and orientation information for six axes industrial robots.

We perform a computational simulation of the fluid dynamics of sodium doublet (Na-D) line emissions from one sonoluminescing bubble among the cavitation bubbles in argon-saturated Na hydroxide (NaOH) aqueous solutions. Our simulation includes the distributions of acoustic pressures and the dynamics of cavitation bubbles by numerically solving the cavitation dynamic equation and bubble-pulsation equation. The simulation results demonstrate that when the maximum temperature inside a luminescing bubble is relatively low, two emission peaks from excited Na are prominent within the emission spectra, at wavelengths of 589.0 and 589.6 nm. As the maximum temperature of the bubble increases, the two peaks merge into one peak and the full width at half maximum of this peak increases. These calculations match with the observations of Na-D line emissions from MBSL occurring in aqueous solutions of NaOH under an argon gas.

In this paper, the adsorption behaviors of Cu(II) from the aqueous solution using rape straw powders were studied. The effects of initial Cu(II) concentration, pH range and absorbent dosage on the adsorption efficiency of Cu(II) by rape straw powder were investigated by Box-Behnken Design based on response surface methodology. The values of coefficient constant of the nonlinear models were 0.9997, 0.9984 and 0.9944 for removal Cu(II) from aqueous solution using rape straw shell, seed pods and straw pith core, respectively, which could navigate the design space for various factors on effects of biosorption Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The various factors of pH and biosorbents dosage were the key factors that affecting the removal efficiency of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The biosorption equilibrium data presented its favorable monolayer adsorption Cu(II) onto shell, seed pods and straw pith core, respectively. The pseudo-second order kinetic model was the proper approach to determine the adsorption kinetics. The biosorption of Cu(II) onto surfaces of rape straw powders were confirmed and ion-exchanged in the adsorption process by energy dispersive spectrometer. The critical groups, -OH, -CH, -NH3+, -CH3, -NH and -C-O, exhibited by the infrared spectra results, changed to suggest that these groups played critical roles, especially -CH3 in the adsorption of copper ions onto rape straw powders. The study provided evidences that rape straw powders can be used for removing Cu(II) from aqueous water.

International audience; This paper presents a case study of water inrush and mud burst occurring in a migmatite tunnel to study its formation mechanisms. The geological investigation and mineralogical analysis showed that water inrush and mud burst in the migmatite was closely related to the component of the host rock. High content of soluble minerals, e.g., calcite and dolomite, would make the migmatite rock prone to be fragmentized, isintegrated and eventually form different sorts of connected or semi-connected veins. The field exploration revealed most cavities in the magmatite tunnel were eroded by groundwater and formed large interconnected networks. The two faults and the dike in the magmatite tunnel became the preferred paths and provided great convenience for plenty of precipitation and mud slurry. Due to high water pressure and blast disturbance, the cavities can soon connect each other as well as all sorts of veins, forming a complex ground channel for water inrush and mud burst. To estimate the potential occurrence of water inrush and mud burst, the water bursting coefficient was employed. The results showed the water bursting coefficient of the magmatite tunnel was much bigger than the threshold values and it can be used to explain the accident of water inrush and mud burst occurring in the magmatite tunnel.

In this paper,the rule of direct proportion between anchor stress and creep strain of rock mass is taken as a starting point. After tunnel excavation,stress distribution of anchor in perfect circle tunnel is analyzed,then an important conclusion that the location is coincident between peak stress of anchor and plastic zone border of rock mass can be drawn in terms of theoretical derivation when rock mass is in plasticity.

In view of the limitation of seismic damage model for concrete structures with recent methods, based on Drucker-Prager constitutive model, with the concept of damage surface, Mazars concrete damage equation obtained by uniaxial test was extended to the triaxial state. Material stiffness damage degradation impact on the yield process of concrete yield surface was considered. Given Druker-Prager constitutive model adapted to the low friction angle soft clay type, the yield parameters threshold of yield surface is low that does not meet the concrete reality, draw double-shear strength theory, the strain threshold of double shear strain yield equation has been adopted, Modified damage threshold of uniaxial test strain damage equation. This paper developed a simplified concrete damage constitutive model in FLAC3D environment. The model is simple and easy to practical engineering applications, and the model has a certain accuracy. Try to explore a new constitutive model of concrete.