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Infection is one of the leading causes of failure in titanium-based implant materials during clinical surgeries, often resulting in delayed or non-union of bone healing. Furthermore, the overuse of antibiotics can lead to bacterial resistance. Therefore, developing a novel titanium-based implant material with both antimicrobial and osteogenic properties is of great significance. In this study, chitosan (CS), polydopamine (PDA), and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) HHC36 were applied to modify the surface of titanium, resulting in the successful preparation of the composite material Ti-PDA-CS/PDA@HHC36 (abbreviated as T-P-C/P@H). CS promotes osteogenesis and cell adhesion, providing an ideal microenvironment for bone repair. PDA enhances the material’s biocompatibility and corrosion resistance, offering cell adhesion sites, while both components exhibit pH-responsive characteristics. The HHC36 effectively prevents infection, protecting the bone repair material from bacterial damage. Overall, the synergistic effects of these components in T-P-C/P@H not only confer excellent antimicrobial and osteogenic properties but also improve biocompatibility, offering a new strategy for applying titanium-based implants in clinical settings.

ABSTRACTThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has posed enormous challenges to global public health. The use of antibiotics has greatly increased during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic owing to the presence of bacterial co-infection and secondary bacterial infections. The antibiotics daptomycin (DAP) is widely used in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by gram-positive bacteria owing to its highly efficient antibacterial activity. It is pivotal to study the antibiotics usage options for patients of coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) with pneumonia those need admission to receive antibiotics treatment for bacterial co-infection in managing COVID-19 disease. Herein, we have revealed the interactions of DAP with the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and the variant Omicron (B1.1.529) using the molecular docking approach and Omicron (B1.1.529) pseudovirus (PsV) mimic invasion. Molecular docking analysis shows that DAP has a certain degree of binding ability to the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and several derived virus variants, and co-incubation of 1–100 μM DAP with cells promotes the entry of the PsV into human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2)-expressing HEK-293T cells (HEK-293T-hACE2), and this effect is related to the concentration of extracellular calcium ions (Ca2+). The PsV invasion rate in the HEK-293T-hACE2 cells concurrently with DAP incubation was 1.7 times of PsV infection alone. In general, our findings demonstrate that DAP promotes the infection of PsV into cells, which provides certain reference of antibiotics selection and usage optimization for clinicians to treat bacterial coinfection or secondary infection during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

BackgroundRecent studies have increasingly shown the connection between gut microbiome and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, no studies have explored the relationship between the gut virome and GDM, and the underlying mechanism remains unknown.MethodsWe performed a nested case-control study within a follow-up cohort, enrolling 51 patients with GDM and 51 healthy controls. Shotgun metagenomics sequencing was used to explore gut virome profiles during early pregnancy.ResultsDiversity analysis revealed no difference in the overall gut virome composition between two groups, however, we found greater abundance of Escherichia phage SH2026Stx1 (Q = 0.23), Enterobacteria phage mEp043 c-1 (Q = 0.21), crAssphage cr50_1 (Q = 0.21), Enterobacteria phage phi80 (Q = 0.21), and Escherichia phage HK106 (Q = 0.23) in GDM patients. Cross-kingdom correlation analysis showed the negative correlation between the gut bacterium Eubacterium eligens and three bacteriophages (Escherichia phage SH2026Stx1, Enterobacteria phage mEp043 c-1, and Escherichia phage HK106) in GDM group (r < 0, P < 0.05). Based on gut microbial features and clinical indicators, we constructed a new prediction model using random forest method for GDM with good predictive performance (AUC of 0.893, 95% CI: 0.736 ∼ 0.990).ConclusionThis study is the first to investigate the relationship between the gut virome and GDM as well as the cross-kingdom correlation between gut viruses and bacteria in GDM. Our findings could enhance strategies for preventing and treating GDM from the perspective of gut microbiome, offering valuable insights into its pathogenesis.

Mulch was prepared using composted sugarcane leaves, with polyvinyl alcohol and cationic starch as adhesives, through compression molding. The study aimed to investigate the effects of different adhesives on the mechanical properties, thermal oxidative degradation performance, and biodegradability of the covering materials. The results indicated that, when the adhesive dosage was consistent, cover material A, which utilized polyvinyl alcohol as the adhesive, exhibited higher tensile strength and elongation at break compared to cover material B, which employed a blend of polyvinyl alcohol and cationic starch. Specifically, at an adhesive dosage of 20%, cover material A achieved a tensile strength of 0.46 MPa and an elongation at break of 7.72%, representing the highest values among all experimental groups. There was minimal disparity in the thermal oxidative degradation performance between materials prepared with either adhesive; however, a higher quantity of adhesive led to decreased biodegradability performance. After being buried in soil for 120 days, the degradation exceeded 40% for both materials, resulting in loss of their original shape and strength properties. In conclusion, while sugarcane leaves-based biodegradable materials demonstrate favorable degradation performance, further enhancements are necessary to improve their mechanical properties. These materials have potential applications as substitutes for plastic mulch.

Downburst is a type of near-surface short-term destructive strong wind that significantly affects wind-sensitive flexible structures like transmission tower-line systems. The existence of the tower-line coupling effect complicates the wind-induced vibration response analysis. Firstly, the average wind speed time history is obtained using the impinging jet wind field model, the pulsating wind speed time history is simulated using the harmonic synthesis method, and then the total wind speed time history of the downburst is obtained by superposition. Then, the transmission tower-line finite element model is established to carry out the wind vibration response analysis under different wind attack angles. Based on the most unfavorable wind angle of attack, the wind-induced vibration response and the coupling effect of the tower-line system are investigated under different maximum wind speed heights (Z $_{\max }$ ) and span distances. Finally, the range of wind load reduction coefficients for the tower-line separation system is given. The results show that under the most unfavorable wind angle of attack angle, both the displacement and acceleration response of the tower-line separation system are more significant than that of the tower-line coupling system. At Z $_{\max }=70$ m, the difference in displacement response between the two systems reaches the maximum, indicating an apparent tower-line coupling effect. As the span distance increases, both the displacement response and the acceleration response of the tower-line separation system increase. In contrast, the displacement response of the tower-line coupling system increases, but the acceleration response decreases. For the proposed design reduction coefficient for the transmission tower-line coupling effect under the action of the downburst, it is considered more reasonable to take the value between 0.83-0.95. This study provides some references for further optimization of the transmission tower design.

As a focal point in contemporary land system science research, land use transitions significantly impact the ecological environment. Zhaosu County, a typical ecological county in the arid region of Northwest China, offers significant insights into the processes of land use transition and their effects on the ecological environment. Studying these dynamics is crucial for the county’s rational spatial allocation and sustainable development. Based on the remote sensing monitoring data of land use in Zhaosu County in 2000, 2010, and 2018, this article classified land use according to three primary functions: “production, living, and ecological”. By comprehensively applying the research methods of land use transfer matrix model, land use center of gravity shift model, eco-environmental quality index, and regional ecosystem contributions, this paper quantitatively analyzed the process of land use functional transition and spatial transition in Zhaosu County from 2000 to 2018 and scientifically investigated the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of land use transitions as well as their varying impacts on the ecological environment. This research indicates that: (1) From 2000 to 2018, the ecological land in Zhaosu County initially experienced an increase followed by a decrease; in contrast, production land underwent a decline before rebounding, while living land has shown a continuous upward trajectory. (2) The spatial distribution of the three primary functional land uses in Zhaosu is unbalanced, and the center of gravity of all land uses has shifted during the study period. Among them, the center of gravity of water area and other ecological land underwent the most pronounced displacements, and the spatial migration intensified initially before gradually diminishing, while the degree of deviation of urban living land was the least pronounced. (3) The comprehensive eco-environmental quality index of Zhaosu County continued to decline from 0.584 in 2000 to 0.549 in 2018, indicating a persistent degradation trend of the ecological environment quality. (4) The negative effects of the ecological environment in Zhaosu County outweighed the positive effects, and the main factors contributing to the decline in ecological environment quality were grassland degradation and the decline of the snowline.

As the global population ages, the incidence of elderly patients with dementia, represented by Alzheimer's disease (AD), will continue to increase. Previous studies have suggested that β-amyloid protein (Aβ) deposition is a key factor leading to AD. However, the clinical efficacy of treating AD with anti-Aβ protein antibodies is not satisfactory, suggesting that Aβ amyloidosis may be a pathological change rather than a key factor leading to AD. Identification of the causes of AD and development of corresponding prevention and treatment strategies is an important goal of current research. Following the discovery of soluble oligomeric forms of Aβ (AβO) in 1998, scientists began to focus on the neurotoxicity of AβOs. As an endogenous neurotoxin, the active growth of AβOs can lead to neuronal death, which is believed to occur before plaque formation, suggesting that AβOs are the key factors leading to AD. PANoptosis, a newly proposed concept of cell death that includes known modes of pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis, is a form of cell death regulated by the PANoptosome complex. Neuronal survival depends on proper mitochondrial function. Under conditions of AβO interference, mitochondrial dysfunction occurs, releasing lethal contents as potential upstream effectors of the PANoptosome. Considering the critical role of neurons in cognitive function and the development of AD as well as the regulatory role of mitochondrial function in neuronal survival, investigation of the potential mechanisms leading to neuronal PANoptosis is crucial. This review describes the disruption of neuronal mitochondrial function by AβOs and elucidates how AβOs may activate neuronal PANoptosis by causing mitochondrial dysfunction during the development of AD, providing guidance for the development of targeted neuronal treatment strategies.

Abstract Background The family with sequence similarity 20-member C (FAM20C) kinase, a Golgi casein kinase, which is responsible for phosphorylating the majority of the extracellular phosphoproteins within S-x-E/pS motifs, and is fundamentally associated with multiple biological processes to maintain cell proliferation, biomineralization, migration, adhesion, and phosphate homeostasis. In dissecting how FAM20C regulates downstream molecules and potential mechanisms, however, there are multiple target molecules of FAM20C, particularly many phenomena remain elusive, such as changes in cell-autonomous behaviors, incompatibility in genotypes and phenotypes, and others. Methods Here, assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq), RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), proteomics, and phosphoproteomics were performed in Fam20c-dificient osteoblasts and to facilitate an integrated analysis and determine the impact of chromatin accessibility, genomic expression, protein alterations, signaling pathway, and post translational modifcations. Results By combining ATAC-seq and RNA-seq, we identified TCF4 and Wnt signaling pathway as the key regulators in Fam20c-dificient cells. Further, we showed Calpastatin/Calpain proteolysis system as a novel target axis for FAM20C to regulate cell migration and F-actin cytoskeleton by integrated analysis of proteomics and phosphoproteomics. Furthermore, Calpastatin/Calpain proteolysis system could negatively regulate the Wnt signaling pathway. Conclusion These observations implied that Fam20c knockout osteoblasts would cause cell homeostatic imbalance, involving changes in multiple signaling pathways in the conduction system.

This study introduces a novel fluxgate current sensor with a compact, ring-shaped configuration that exhibits improved performance through the integration of magnetization residence times and neural networks. The sensor distinguishes itself with a unique magnetization profile, denoted as M waves, which emerge from the interaction between the target signal and ambient magnetic interference, effectively enhancing interference suppression. These M waves highlight the non-linear coupling between the magnetic field and magnetization residence times. Detection of these residence times is accomplished using full-wave rectification circuits and a Schmitt trigger, with a digital output provided by timing sequence detection. A dual-layer feedforward neural network deciphers the target signal, exploiting this non-linear relationship. The sensor achieves a linearity error of 0.054% within a measurement range of 15 A. When juxtaposed with conventional sensors utilizing the residence-time difference strategy, our sensor reduces linearity error by more than 40-fold and extends the effective measurement range by 150%. Furthermore, it demonstrates a significant decrease in ambient magnetic interference.

BackgroundCell survival or death is one of the key scientific issues of inflammatory response. To regulate cell death during the occurrence and development of periodontitis, various forms of programmed cell death, such as pyroptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and apoptosis, have been proposed. It has been found that ferroptosis characterized by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation is involved in cancer, degenerative brain diseases and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, NCOA4 is considered one of ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) contributing to butyrate-induced cell death in the periodontitis. This research aims to analyze the expression of FRGs in periodontitis tissues and to explore the relationship between ferroptosis and periodontitis.MethodGenes associated with periodontitis were retrieved from two Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. Then, we normalized microarray data and removed the batch effect using the R software. We used R to convert the mRNA expression data and collected the expression of FRGs. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), transcription factor (TF) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were used. In addition, we constructed a receiver operating characteristic curve and obtained relative mRNA expression verified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR).ResultsEight and 10 FRGs related to periodontitis were upregulated and downregulated, respectively. GO analysis showed that FRGs were enriched in the regulation of glutathione biosynthetic, glutamate homeostasis, and endoplasmic reticulum-nucleus signaling pathway. The top TFs included CEBPB, JUND, ATF2. Based on the PPI network analysis, FRGs were mainly linked to the negative regulation of IRE1-mediated unfolded protein response, regulation of type IIa hypersensitivity, and regulation of apoptotic cell clearance. The expression levels of NCOA4, SLC1A5 and HSPB1 using PCR were significantly different between normal gingival samples and periodontitis samples. Furthermore, the diagnostic value of FRGs for periodontitis were "Good".ConclusionsWe found significant associations between FRGs and periodontitis. The present study not only provides a new possible pathomechanism for the occurrence of periodontitis but also offers a new direction for the diagnosis and treatment of periodontitis.

Introduction Aspirin is a common antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory drug, which has been reported to extend life in animal models and application in the treatment of aging-related diseases. However, it remains unclear about the effects of aspirin on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs). Here, we aimed to analyze the influence of aspirin on senescence and young BM-MSCs. Methods BM-MSCs were serially passaged to construct a replicative senescence model. SA-β-gal staining, PCR, western blot, and RNA-sequencing were performed on BM-MSCs with or without aspirin treatment, to examine aspirin’s impact on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Results SA-β-gal staining, PCR, and western blot revealed that aspirin could alleviate the cellular expression of senescence-related indicators of BM-MSCs, including a decrease of SA-β-gal-positive cells and staining intensity, and downregulation of p16, p21, and p53 expression after aspirin treatment. RNA-sequencing results shown in the biological processes related to aging, aspirin could influence cellular immune response and lipid metabolism. Conclusion The efficacy of aspirin for retarding senescence of BM-MSCs was demonstrated. Our study indicated that the mechanisms of this delay might involve influencing immune response and lipid metabolism.

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a toxin that causes severe neuronal oxidative damage. As vitamin C is an antioxidant well-known to protect neurons from oxidative damage, our goal was to elucidate its protective mechanism against MeHg-induced oxidative stress in human neuroblastomas (SHSY5Y). We treated cells with MeHg, L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AA2P), or both, and used MTT, flow cytometry, and Western blot analyses to assess cell damage. We found that MeHg significantly decreased the survival rate of SH-SY5Y cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner, increased apoptosis, downregulated PAR and PARP1 expression, and upregulated AIF, Cyto C, and cleaved Caspase-3 expression. A time course study showed that MeHg increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation; enhanced apoptosis; increased DNA damage; upregulated expression ofγH2A.X, KU70, 67 and 57 kDa AIF, CytoC, and cleaved Caspase-3; and downregulated expression of 116 kDa PARP1, PAR, BRAC1, and Rad51. Supplementation with AA2P significantly increased cell viability and decreased intrinsic ROS accumulation. It also reduced ROS accumulation in cells treated with MeHg and decreased MeHg-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, AA2P conversely regulated gene expression compared to MeHg. Collectively, we demonstrate that AA2P attenuates MeHg-induced apoptosis by alleviating ROS-mediated DNA damage and is a potential treatment for MeHg neurotoxicity.

Abstract Background Long-term high-intensity exercise can lead to reproductive endocrine and spermatogenic dysfunction. This research is to investigate the effect of resveratrol on the reduction of reproductive dysfunction induced by high-intensity exercise, and to screen relevant factors and signal transduction pathways. Methods Rats were randomly divided into three groups, a control group, an intensive exercise group (IE group), and a resveratrol-treated group (RSV group). After 9 weeks of exercise, the sperm density and reproductive hormone concentrations were measured, along with antioxidation, inflammatory cytokine production, and histological analyses performed for each group. In addition, a proteomics analysis of the IE group and RSV group were conducted. Results We found that compared with the control group, the average sperm density (P

To investigate the vibration control capability of a tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) on a transmission line, the motion equations of the transmission line with TMDI under harmonic excitation were derived. Thus, the closed-form solutions of the displacement response spectrum were obtained by Fourier transform. Based on the colliding bodies optimization (CBO), one of the metaheuristic algorithms, the TMDI parameters, was optimized to minimize the displacement of the transmission line-TMDI system. The research results show that the response of the transmission line was reduced by at least half for different mass ratio and frequency ratio conditions, which indicates that the TMDI can effectively control the displacement response of the transmission line. In addition, the TMDI parameters were optimized by CBO, and the vibration control efficiency was significantly improved. The results of the study show that the data converge quickly with fewer iterations in collision body optimization. On the one hand, CBO avoids getting into local optimization compared to other metaheuristic algorithms. On the other hand, it is cheaper in terms of the cost of its calculations compared to the methods of mathematical derivation. It plays an active role in the optimization of complex structures. The vibration suppression performance of the TMDI after optimization reaches 56–96%.

The acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) type conjugated organic molecule has been widely applied in the organic optoelectronics field. A total of Nine compounds (1–9) were designed under the A-D-A framework, with the electron donor benzodithiophene as the core and dicyanomethylene as the acceptor moiety, modifying the benzodithiophene with the phenyl, naphthyl, and difluorinated phenyl groups. The conjugation length can be changed by introducing a thiophene π-conjugated bridge. The geometric structures, electronic structure, excited state properties, aromaticity, and the static- and frequency-dependent second hyperpolarizabilities were investigated by employing high-precision density functional theory (DFT) calculations with an aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. As a result, the three compounds with the longest conjugation length exhibit a smaller energy gap (Egap), larger UV-vis absorption coefficient, and response range, which are the three strongest third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) response properties in this work. This work systematically explored the connection between molecular structure and NLO response, which provides a rational design strategy for high-performance organic NLO materials.

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) mediated protein degradation is crucial to maintain quantitive and functional homeostasis of diverse proteins. Balanced cellular protein homeostasis controlled by UPS is fundamental to normal neurological functions while impairment of UPS can also lead to some neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Functioning as the substrate recognition component of the SCF-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, FBXW7 is essential to multiple aspects of cellular processes via targeting a wide range of substrates for proteasome-mediated degradation. Accumulated evidence shows that FBXW7 is fundamental to neurological functions and especially implicated in neurodevelopment and the nosogenesis of neurodegeneration. In this review, we describe general features of FBXW7 gene and proteins, and mainly present recent findings that highlight the vital roles and molecular mechanisms of FBXW7 in neurodevelopment such as neurogenesis, myelination and cerebral vasculogenesis and in the pathogenesis of some typical neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Additionally, we also provide a prospect on focusing FBXW7 as a potential therapeutic target to rescue neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative impairment.

A downburst is one of the high-intensity winds that cause transmission tower failures. In recent years, downbursts have brought great disasters to the economies and lives of people all around the world. In this paper, the dynamic stability of the transmission tower-line system under a downburst is analyzed. The deterministic-random mixed model is used to generate the downburst wind field and ANSYS software is employed to establish the finite element model of the transmission tower-line system. The response characteristics of the transmission tower-line system in the downburst and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind fields are compared through time history analysis. The displacement response of the transmission tower is analyzed with different Zmax values and attack angles. Based on the Budiansky–Roth criterion and dynamic incremental method, the dynamic stability of the transmission tower system under the action of the downburst wind field is studied, and the corresponding wind speed conditions when the transmission tower-line system is unstable are obtained. The results show that the top displacement of the tower-line system under the action of a downburst is 1.83 times that under the ABL wind. The tower top acceleration under the downburst is 1.57 times that under ABL wind. The most unfavorable wind attack angle for a transmission tower-line system is 90°. When Zmax is within the height range of the transmission tower, the influence on the displacement of the transmission tower increases with the increase in Zmax. When Zmax exceeds the height range of the transmission tower, the influence on the displacement of the transmission tower decreases. Under the most unfavorable wind attack angle, the influence of the conductor on the stability of the transmission tower is obvious.

Wind loads can cause significant vibrations in circular section members, resulting in serious structural hazards. In order to control the vibration of the structure and mitigate the hazards, this study investigates the optimal design and carries out a performance evaluation of a tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) designed for the vibration control of circular section members in structures. The TMDI system is a novel vibration reduction device that utilizes an inerter based on a tuned mass damper (TMD). The main structure is a simplified Euler beam made up of circular section members, and the mass of the TMDI is coupled to the main structure by a spring and damper, as well as to the ground via an inerter. The optimization objectives are to minimize the displacement variance and maximize the energy dissipation index (EDI), and two different optimization schemes are designed. In addition to the comparative analysis of the results obtained from the different optimization schemes, a sensitivity analysis of the design parameters is also performed, and the results show that TMDI not only effectively reduces the additional mass but also has better vibration control performance and robustness than the TMD.

Stem cells from fetal tissue protect against aging and possess greater proliferative capacity than their adult counterparts. These cells can more readily expand in vitro and senesce later in culture. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms for these differences are still not fully understood. In this study, we used a robust rank aggregation (RRA) method to discover robust differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between fetal bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (fMSCs) and aged adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (aMSCs). Multiple methods, including gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed for functional annotation of the robust DEGs, and the results were visualized using the R software. The hub genes and other genes with which they interacted directly were detected by protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. Correlation of gene expression was measured by Pearson correlation coefficient. A total of 388 up-regulated and 289 down-regulated DEGs were identified between aMSCs and fMSCs. We found that the down-regulated genes were mainly involved in the cell cycle, telomerase activity, and stem cell proliferation. The up-regulated DEGs were associated with cell adhesion molecules, extracellular matrix (ECM)–receptor interactions, and the immune response. We screened out four hub genes, MYC, KIF20A, HLA-DRA, and HLA-DPA1, through PPI-network analysis. The MYC gene was negatively correlated with TXNIP, an age-related gene, and KIF20A was extensively involved in the cell cycle. The results suggested that MSCs derived from the bone marrow of an elderly donor present a pro-inflammatory phenotype compared with that of fMSCs, and the HLA-DRA and HLA-DPA1 genes are related to the immune response. These findings provide new insights into the differences between aMSCs and fMSCs and may suggest novel strategies for ex vivo expansion and application of adult MSCs.

This paper proposes a novel ungrounded TMDI to improve the vibration suppression performance of the transmission line under harmonic excitation. This type of inerter-based damper may transform a translational motion into a rotational motion, greatly increasing the efficiency of vibration suppression. In the present study, the differential equations of motion are first derived based on the transmission line with an ungrounded TMDI structure. Then the closed-form solution of the displacement response spectrum considering the influence of the suspension location of the inerter is developed. The impact of the inerter location on vibration suppression performance is investigated in depth by defining the suspension location factor (υ) and tuning the damping ratio and frequency ratio. The results demonstrate that the suspension location of the inerter has a substantial impact on the damping ratio, frequency ratio, and vibration suppression performance. When the connection location of the inerter is near to the mass of the damper, it degrades the vibration suppression performance of the system. The failure phenomenon of the inerter occurs in the range of 0.2 < υ < 0.3, indicating that the presence of the inerter in this range does not enhance vibration suppression performance. The modal coordinate difference has a considerable impact on the vibration suppression efficacy of the TMDI. With increasing modal coordinate differences, the vibration suppression performance of the TMDI grows dramatically.

To investigate vibration control and optimal design of transmission lines with tuned-mass-damper-inerter (TMDI), the motion equation of transmission lines with TMDI is established in the paper, and the closed-form solutions of the response spectrum of transmission line displacement are derived by the frequency domain analysis method. The design parameters of TMDI are optimized by fixed-point theory, and the vibration control performance of TMDI is discussed. The results show that the increase in apparent mass ratio has a positive effect on the vibration control performance of TMDI; the vibration control performance is greatly affected by frequency ratio and limited by damping ratio; the increase in both mass ratio and apparent mass ratio reduces the peak values of the displacement response spectra of transmission line with TMDI; however, blindly increasing the apparent mass and mass ratio (β > 0.2 or μ > 0.4) has a limited effect on improving the vibration control performance of TMDI; compared with conventional TMD, the peak values of the controlled displacement response spectrum of the transmission line with TMDI can be reduced by about 12%, and TMDI has a better vibration suppression effect on the transmission lines.

Downburst is one of the high-intensity winds that cause transmission tower failures. The regulations of transmission tower-line systems under downburst wind loads cannot meet the design requirements at present. In this paper, the calculation formulas of the background and resonant components of transmission tower under downburst wind loads are obtained, based on the modal analysis theory of non-stationary wind for the single-degree-of-freedom system in the frequency domain. The effects of structural dynamic characteristics, damping ratio, and mean wind speed vertical profile on dynamic effect on structural response are discussed. Then the equivalent static wind load (ESWL) is obtained according to the maximum response and compared with the finite element method (FEM) in the time domain. Applications of these formulas are addressed to the cases from the empirical model of Holmes and field record of a rear flank downdraft (RFD). The results show that the maximum responses obtained by the current formulas match well with those from the modal decomposition method and dynamic analysis with FEM. The internal forces of tower members calculated by ESWL based on maximum response are closer to the results from FEM than those calculated by downburst loads recommended in ASCE guidelines. The presented framework can be used to assist the wind-resistant design of transmission towers considering downburst wind load.

In this study, alumina ceramic plate microfiltration membranes (ACMs) were used for the treatment of oily wastewater with different concentrations. The permeate oil concentration of the system was basically less than 5 mg·L−1, and the oil rejection rate was up to 97.6%. The effects of raw oil concentration on permeation flux and oil rejection rate of oily wastewater were studied. The results showed that with the increase of raw oil concentration, the oil rejection rate increased slightly due to the existence of oil film on the surface of filtered ACMs. Moreover, the existence of oil film had little effect on the flux change of ceramic membranes. The results showed that the permeability of ACMs mainly depended on their own oleophobic properties. In this system, physical cleaning technology is used to remove oil droplets and particles blocked in membrane pores. The results showed that physical cleaning could significantly recover the permeation flux as well as improve the oil rejection rate. On this basis, a system is proposed as a potential technique for oily wastewater treatment.

The effects of Reynolds number (Re) and surface roughness on the wind pressure coefficient on a MAN type dry gas tank were analyzed in detail by wind tunnel tests. A wind load calculation model was then established, which is suitable for the wind resistant design of the gas tanks. The test results revealed that in the range of 7 × 105

Pigs are animals that live in groups and have social hierarchies within the group. After mixing, they can re-establish social hierarchies within several days through fighting. Dominance hierarchical indices, such as I&SI, Elo rating, and Glicko rating, have been used to analyze social hierarchies of some social animals but not pigs. I&SI index involves iterative calculations that first minimize the number of inconsistencies (I) in a dominance matrix, and then minimize the strength of those inconsistencies (SI). Elo rating and Glicko rating indices are based on the sequence in which interactions occur, and continuously update ratings by looking at interactions sequentially. To study the temporal dynamics of social hierarchy formation and maintenance in weaned pigs after mixing, a total of 102 pigs (47 females and 55 barrows) were selected by similar body weight and mixed in 10 pens (10 or 11 females or barrows per pen). Their behavior was recorded and observed for 72 h after mixing. Results showed that hierarchical indices I&SI, Elo rating, and Glicko rating were associated with each other (|r| = 0.681 ~ 0.942, p < 0.001). I&SI was associated with logarithms of frequency of active attack (|r| = 0.65, p < 0.05) and tended to associated with logarithms of frequency of standoff (|r| = 0.48, p < 0.1). Elo rating, and Glicko rating were associated with the logarithms of duration of being bullied (|r| = 0.393~0.401, p < 0.05). In addition, Glicko rating tended to be associated with the logarithms of duration of active attack and frequency of active attack (|r| = 0.416~0.439, p < 0.1). Multiple linear regression analyses of logarithms of dyadic behavior indicators for three hierarchical indices indicated the same effects. The time (hours) to achieve social stability of pigs after mixing was lower for females than barrows (23.06 ± 4.15 vs. 40.55 ± 4.71 h; p < 0.001). The most dominant pig (the first ranked) in each pen quickly appeared within a few hours after mixing and remained stable. Overall, our study demonstrated that the ranks calculated by the three dominance hierarchical indices: I&SI, Elo rating, and Glicko rating, were consistent and partially associated with part of the dyadic behavioral indicators in weaned pigs after mixing.

Understanding the genetic background underlying the expression of behavioral traits has the potential to fasten the genetic progress for reduced aggressive behavior of pigs. The monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene is known as the “warrior” gene, as it has been previously linked to aggressive behavior in humans and livestock animals. To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms in porcine MAOA gene associated with aggressive behavior of pigs, a total of 500 weaned pigs were selected and mixed in 51 pens. In each pen, two aggressive and two docile pigs (a total of 204 pigs) were selected based on their composite aggressive score (CAS). Ear tissue was sampled to extract genomic DNA. Constructs containing variable lengths of truncated porcine MAOA promoter were used to determine the promoter activity by a dual luciferase reporter system. The core promoter region was located at −679 bp to −400 bp. A total of nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MAOA gene were genotyped, of which six SNPs had significant differences (p < 0.05) in allele frequency between the aggressive and docile pigs. Linkage disequilibrium and association analyses showed that the pigs inherited the wild genotypes showed more aggressive behavior (p < 0.05) than pigs with the mutant genotypes of the four linked SNPs, rs321936011, rs331624976, rs346245147, and rs346324437. In addition, pigs of GCAA haplotype were more (p < 0.05) aggressive than the pigs with GCGA or ATGG haplotype. The construct containing the wild genotype GG of rs321936011 had lower (p = 0.031) promoter activity compared to the mutant genotype AA. These results suggest that the four linked SNPs in MAOA gene could be considered as a molecular marker for behavioral trait selection in pigs.

The resistance of commonly used clinical antibiotics, such as daptomycin (DAP), has become increasingly serious in the fight against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection. It is essential to explore key pathogenicity-driven genes/proteins in bacterial infection and antibiotics resistance, which contributes to develop novel therapeutic strategies against S. aureus infections. The nt5 gene of S. aureus, encoding 5’-nucleotidase (NT5), is nearly unknown for its function in drug resistance and bacterial infection. Herein, to reveal nt5 gene role in drug resistance and infection ability of S. aureus, we performed nt5C166T gene mutation using a clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat ribonucleic acid (RNA)-guided base editing system to investigate the lose-of-function of NT5 protein. Subsequent transcriptome sequencing of the mutant strain revealed that nt5 inactivation caused changes in cell membrane integrity and inhibited nucleotide metabolism, suggesting the nt5 gene may be involved in bacterial drug resistance and virulence. The mutant strain exhibited enhanced tolerance to DAP treatment by attenuating cell membrane potential dissipation and slowing deoxyribonucleic acid release. Moreover, the nt5 mutation alleviated abscess degree of mouse kidneys caused by S. aureus infection byreducing the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18. The nt5 mutant strain was easily swallowed by host immune cells, resulting in weak bacterial toxicity of the S. aureus mutant in the bacterial infection process. In summary, nt5 gene mutation confers tolerance to DAP and a lower bacterial capacity to form kidney abscesses through phagocytosis of host immune cells, which indicates the targeted inhibition of NT5 protein would offer a potential new therapeutic strategy against S. aureus infection.