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Abstract Applying long wavelength periodic potentials on quantum materials has recently been demonstrated to be a promising pathway for engineering novel quantum phases of matter. Here, we utilize twisted bilayer boron nitride (BN) as a moiré substrate for band structure engineering. Small-angle-twisted bilayer BN is endowed with periodically arranged up and down polar domains, which imprints a periodic electrostatic potential on a target two-dimensional (2D) material placed on top. As a proof of concept, we use Bernal bilayer graphene as the target material. The resulting modulation of the band structure appears as superlattice resistance peaks, tunable by varying the twist angle, and Hofstadter butterfly physics under a magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate the tunability of the moiré potential by altering the dielectric thickness underneath the twisted BN. Finally, we find that near-60°-twisted bilayer BN also leads to moiré band features in bilayer graphene, which may come from the in-plane piezoelectric effect or out-of-plane corrugation effect. Tunable twisted BN substrate may serve as versatile platforms to engineer the electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures.

Abstract The molten Li2CO3 transformation of CO2 to oxygen and graphene nanocarbons (GNCs), such as carbon nanotubes, is a large scale process of CO2 removal to mitigate climate change. Sustainability benefits include the stability and storage of the products, and the GNC product value is an incentive for carbon removal. However, high Li2CO3 cost and its competitive use as the primary raw material for EV batteries are obstacles. Common alternative alkali or alkali earth carbonates are ineffective substitutes due to impure GNC products or high energy limitations. A new decarbonization chemistry utilizing a majority of SrCO3 is investigated. SrCO3 is much more abundant, and an order of magnitude less expensive, than Li2CO3. The equivalent affinities of SrCO3 and Li2CO3 for absorbing and releasing CO2 are demonstrated to be comparable, and are unlike all the other alkali and alkali earth carbonates. The temperature domain in which the CO2 transformation to GNCs can be effective is

The accurate installation of long-span arch bridges’ arch ribs remains a challenge due to the complex calculations required for cable forces and arch rib displacements, as well as the significant influence of environmental and construction loads. In this study, we propose a practical approach to alignment and error feedback control for long-span arch bridges. Cable forces were optimized using multiple control objectives based on influence matrix principles. The impact of temperature on the next segment to be installed was analyzed using the metastatic GM(1, 1) model and fitting results. Several tunable parameters were employed to account for parameter errors and environmental interference. These parameters were adjusted based on the deviations between practical and theoretical alignments for different arch rib segments, achieving a model output of an offset-free-tracking arch rib structure. This technology was applied to monitor the construction of the Tian’e Longtan Grand Bridge. Compared to conventional alignment control approaches, the proposed method achieved excellent arch ring alignment after the closure of the high-accuracy arch rib and cable release, as well as effective control of cable force uniformity and tower deviation. Field measurement data indicate that the closing deviation of the arch ring is only 3 mm. This study provides a valuable reference for the construction control of long-span arch bridges.

To analyze the composition of norfloxacin-resistant bacteria and norfloxacin-degrading bacteria in pond water and sediment in subtropical China, the composition of antibiotic resistant bacteria in pond water and sediment enriched with norfloxacin-containing medium was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. Sediment and water samples were collected from 3 fish ponds in subtropical China, and domesticated with norfloxacin, subsequently norfloxacin-resistant bacteria through high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA, and isolated norfloxacin- degrading bacteria. Our results showed that the pond sediment and water contain a variety of norfloxacin-resistant bacteria, mainly from Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi. Moreover, we isolated two norfloxacin-degrading bacteria (NorXu-2 and NorXu-3). The norfloxacin-degrading rate by NorXu-2 and NorXu-3 in the culture mediums with 200 μg/mL was the highest, which was up to 49.71% and 35.79%,respectively. When the norfloxacin concentration was 200 μg/mL, NorXu-2 and NorXu-3 had the best norfloxacin-degrading effect at pH of 6, and the degradation rates were 53.64% and 45.54%, respectively. Moreover, NorXu-3 exhibited a good tolerance to high NaCl concentration. These results not only provided basic data for the follow-up study of the molecular mechanism of antimicrobial microbial degradation, but also provided potential norfloxacin degrading bacteria for norfloxacin removal and bioremediation in aquaculture environment.

The anti-hyperuricemic activity of o-methoxycinnamic acid (OMA) was investigated in the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model, and its mode of action and biomarkers were studied using metabolomics techniques. First, a hyperuricemic C. elegans model was established to study the anti-hyperuricemic activity of OMA by altering uric acid levels in the nematodes. Subsequently, UPLC-Q-TOF/MS was used to investigate the effect of OMA on C. elegans endogenous metabolites, and differential metabolite analysis was used to identify OMA action pathways and biomarkers. The results showed that uric acid level increased by 12.0% (P

A suitable GC-MS/MS method was established for the determination of 22 phthalate esters (PAEs) in milk powder. The milk powder samples were dissolved in water, extracted by acetonitrile, salted out by NaCl, then quantitated by GC-MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode (MRM). As a result, 22 PAEs possessed an excellent linear relation by using matrix-matched standard curve under 5~500 ng/mL, the correlation coefficients were all greater than 0.99, LODwas 1.0~5.0 μg/kg, LOQ was 3.0~15.0 μg/kg. The recoveries were 82.4%~111.4% at three spiked level with relative standard deviation (n=6) of 2.4%~9.5%. This analytical method is simple, quick, sensitive and stable, which can be used for a monitoring and screening analysis of 22 PAEs in milk powder.

In this work, we synthesized folate-conjugated dual-drug loaded double liposomes which are noted for their extremely high target specificity towards pituitary adenomas. It is known that while folate receptors are almost non-existent in normal tissues, they are overexpressed in non-functional pituitary adenomas. Synthesis, characterization and in vitro studies of folate-conjugated dual-drug loaded double liposomes for targeting non-functional pituitary adenomas is the highlight of this study. The size, zeta-potential, polydispersity index, in vitro release studies, stability of the nanoformulation, cytotoxicity and cellular uptake studies have been carried out. It was noted from the results that these are highly targeted liposomal formulation as expressed by the cellular uptake studies and are just sufficiently sized to escape the clearance mechanisms of body. They were also cytocompatible and were stable even after 60 days of shelf life with negligible changes in sizes, zeta potential as well as polydispersity index. The conjugation with folate particles resulted in the high specificity of the formulation to the specific targeted tissue as seen in cellular uptake by primary cell culture of non-functional pituitary adenomas. It may safely be concluded from the results that this approach may be a promising therapy for the future which has low cytotoxicity and high-specificity.

Skeletal system toxicity due to lead exposure has attracted extensive attention in recent years, but few studies focus on the skeletal toxicity of lead in the early life stages of zebrafish. The endocrine system, especially the GH/IGF-1 axis, plays an important role in bone development and bone health of zebrafish in the early life. In the present study, we investigated whether lead acetate (PbAc) affected the GH/IGF-1 axis, thereby causing skeletal toxicity in zebrafish embryos. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to lead PbAc between 2 and 120 h post fertilization (hpf). At 120 hpf, we measured developmental indices, such as survival, deformity, heart rate, and body length, and assessed skeletal development by Alcian Blue and Alizarin Red staining and the expression levels of bone-related genes. The levels of GH and IGF-1 and the expression levels of GH/IGF-1 axis-related genes were also detected. Our data showed that the LC50 of PbAc for 120 h was 41 mg/L. Compared with the control group (0 mg/L PbAc), after PbAc exposure, the deformity rate increased, the heart rate decreased, and the body length was shortened at various time periods, in the 20-mg/L group at 120 hpf, the deformity rate increased by 50 fold, the heart rate decreased by 34%, and the body length shortened by 17%. PbAc altered cartilage structures and exacerbated bone loss in zebrafish embryos; in addition, PbAc exposure down-regulated the expression of chondrocyte (sox9a, sox9b), osteoblast (bmp2, runx2) and bone mineralization-related genes (sparc, bglap), and up-regulated the expression of osteoclast marker genes (rankl, mcsf). The GH level increased and the IGF-1 level declined significantly. The GH/IGF-1 axis related genes (ghra, ghrb, igf1ra, igf1rb, igf2r, igfbp2a, igfbp3, igfbp5b) were all decreased. These results suggested that PbAc inhibited the differentiation and maturation of osteoblasts and cartilage matrix, promoted the formation of osteoclasts, and ultimately induced cartilage defects and bone loss by disrupting the GH/IGF-1 axis.

The problem of current sharing imbalance in the parallel connection of IGBT multi-modules affects the wide-scale application of parallel IGBT. The current imbalance problem in the dynamic process is mainly caused by the difference in control loop parameters. In parallel IGBT applications, current sharing is a critical concern. Objective differences in IGBT module and driver circuit parameters, as well as incomplete symmetry in the power circuit, lead to inconsistent parasitic parameters, resulting in both static and dynamic current-sharing issues. Static current sharing refers to the uneven distribution of load current under static operating conditions, while dynamic current sharing refers to the imbalance in current distribution among parallel IGBT modules during turn-on and turn-off processes. This is mainly influenced by the synchronization of turn-on and turn-off timings and the consistency of collector current change rates during these processes. The difference in characteristic parameters of IGBT modules is an important factor leading to the difference in control loop parameters, which has a profound impact on the dynamic current-sharing characteristics of IGBT parallel applications. In the case where the device parameters cannot be changed, some drive compensation controls can compensate for the influence of device differences on dynamic current sharing. Accurate identification of the characteristic parameters of the IGBT module is the key to this method. This paper mainly studies a synchronous variable-amplitude drive scheme and studies the influence of parameters such as synthetic gate resistance, gate-emitter capacitance, and on-off gate threshold voltage on the dynamic current-sharing characteristics. The correlation characteristics of the characteristic parameters of the IGBT device body are studied, and the characteristic model of each parameter and the influencing variable is constructed. The parallel working model of PSpice devices is established, and the influence of different characteristic parameters on the current-sharing characteristics is evaluated, and its sensitivity is summarized through simulation analysis. Through the 1700 V/300 A IGBT parallel switch characteristic experiment, the current sharing effectiveness of the synchronous variable amplitude driving method is verified. Finally, the effects of different gate control voltages and different action times on the dynamic current-sharing characteristics are summarized.

Abstract. Objectives:. To establish Nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) rate of pancreatic cancer patients with lung metastasis by utilizing the database of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Methods:. We obtained the data of 363 pancreatic cancer patients with lung metastasis who were diagnosed between 2010 and 2016 from the SEER database. These patients were randomly divided into training (n = 255) and validation (n = 108) cohorts. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed to evaluate the prognostic effects of multiple clinicopathologic factors on OS. Significant prognostic factors were combined to build Nomogram. The predictive performance of Nomogram was evaluated via internal (training cohort data) and external validation (validation cohort data) by calculating index of concordance (C-index) and plotting area under curve (AUC) and calibration curves. All data from SEER database have been fully de-identified and may be used without further independent ethics committee approval. Results:. In the training cohort, the results of Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that, tumor location, surgery, chemotherapy and other organ of metastasis were significantly associated with the survival prognosis (P

Abstract An electrosynthesis is presented to transform CO2 into an unusual nano and micron dimensioned morphology of carbon, termed Carbon Nano-Scaffold (CNS) with wide a range of high surface area graphene potential usages including batteries, supercapacitors, compression devices, electromagnetic wave shielding and sensors. Current CNS value is over $323 per milligram. The morphology consists of a series of asymmetric 20 to 100 nm thick flat multilayer graphene platelets 2 to 20 µm long orthogonally oriented in a 3D neoplasticism-like geometry, and appears distinct from the honeycomb, foam, or balsa wood cell structures previously attributed to carbon scaffolds. The CNS synthesis splits CO2 by electrolysis in molten carbonate and has a carbon negative footprint. It is observed that transition metal nucleated, high yield growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is inhibited in electrolytes containing over 50 wt% of sodium or 30 wt% of potassium carbonate, or at electrolysis temperatures less than 700 °C. Here, it is found that a lower temperature of synthesis, lower concentrations of lithium carbonate, and higher current density promotes CNS growth while suppressing CNT growth. Electrolyte conditions of 50 wt% sodium carbonate relative to lithium carbonate at an electrolysis temperature of 670 °C produced over 80% of the CNS desired product at 85% faradaic efficiency with a Muntz brass cathode and an Inconel anode.

Background: N-Alkylamides (NAAs), derived from Anacyclus pyrethrum (L.) DC, have potential anti-tumor effects. To explore the molecular mechanism and chemo-preventive capacity of NAAs, we synthesized an NAA (H-10) and evaluated whether it could inhibit the proliferation of B16, HepG2, HeLa, and HCT116 cancer cells in 2D culture. Methods: To evaluate the antiproliferative activity of H-10 in 2D and 3D culture of BD, HepG2, HeLa, and HCT116 cells, multicellular tumor spheroids were constructed to more accurately reflect the cell tumor environment. To visualize nuclear changes related to apoptosis, Hoechst 33258 staining and propidium iodide-Annexin V double staining were performed. Results: Compound H-10 strongly inhibited the growth of all tested cell lines. Hoechst 33258 staining and propidium iodide-Annexin V double staining revealed that H-10 did not cause morphological alterations in the nuclei and moderately induced late apoptosis only when treated at 180 μM. The strongest inhibitory effect was observed in HCT116 cells. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that treatment of HCT116 cells with compound H-10 resulted in robust cell growth arrest in G2 phase in 2D and 3D cell culture; in 3D-cultured HCT116 cells, growth arrest occurred in G1 phase. Treatment with compound H-10 also significantly suppressed angiogenesis of chick chorioallantoic membrane in vivo. Conclusion: Treatment with compound H-10 strongly affected clonogenic survival (in the long-term) and migration of HCT116 cells. Therefore, H-10, a compound of NAAs may be useful for treating cancer because of its anti-neoplastic effect and easy synthesis.

When evaluating and prewarning the damage state of bridges, the observation equation and state equation of bridge systems are not constructed in the existing methods, which would cause the evaluation results to be inconsistent with the actual damage state of bridges. Therefore, the existing methods have the problems of low evaluation accuracy, high false alarm rate, and poor real-time performance. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a novel evaluation and judgment theory of bridge damage state and methodology on early warning of danger. The wavelet packet analysis method is used to construct the observation equation and state equation of bridge systems, which could provide a relevant basis for evaluating the damage state of bridges. Then, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to construct the fuzzy evaluation model of the bridge damage state to evaluate and judge the damage state of bridges. According to the evaluation results, combined with mathematical-statistical analysis methods and principal component analysis methods, the methodology on early warning of danger for bridge structures can be realized. The experimental results showed that the proposed method has high evaluation and judgment accuracy, low false alarm rate, and good real-time performance and reliability.

In order to realize an online power supply, this article develops an explicit design of induction power extraction technology combined with wireless power transmission (WPT) technology. Unlike the power supply mode of traditional batteries of online monitoring devices of high-voltage transmission lines, this technology solves the short battery life cycle problems. First, the principle of induction power extraction is analyzed. Based on the equivalent circuit of the mutual inductance model, expressions of induction power extraction without and with core saturation are derived, respectively. According to the current transformer (CT) magnetic coupling diagram, the open-circuit voltage of the secondary side of the CT is deduced. Therefore, the CT material and size could be selected. The CT coupling model is used to equivalent the current transformer to the ideal voltage source. Then, the four basic topological spaces of the magnetic coupling resonant WPT system are analyzed and calculated, and the efficiency of the SS topology WPT system is analyzed. Furthermore, aiming at long-distance power transmission, this article described the building of a three-coil WPT system and the analysis of the corresponding transmission efficiency and output power expression. With the aid of Maxwell, the technology proposed is simulated based on a 110 kV high-voltage transmission line with 1.2 m as the transmission distance of the system. Finally, the influence of a coupling coefficient and load resistance on the transmission characteristics of the multicoil system is obtained. Consequently, the simulation results with a system output power of 14.4 W verify the effectiveness of the technology.

Tooth replacement rate is an important feature related to feeding mechanics and food choices for dinosaurs. However, only a few data points are available for sauropod dinosaurs, partially due to rarity of relevant fossil material. Four somphospondylan sauropod species have been recovered from the Lower Cretaceous Aptian–Albian Haoling Formation in the Ruyang Basin, Henan Province of central China, but no cranial material has been reported except for a single crown. Here we report the discovery of the rostral portion of a left dentary with replacement teeth in its first five alveoli. Comparative anatomical study shows the partial dentary can be assigned to a member of early diverging somphospondylans. The non-destructive tooth length-based approach to estimating tooth formation time and replacement rate is adopted here. The estimated tooth replacement rate is 76 days, faster than that of Brachiosaurus (83 days) and much lower than typical late diverging lithostrotian titanosaurians (20 days). Thus, this discovery adds an intermediate tooth replacement rate in the evolution of titanosauriform sauropods and supports the idea that evolution of tooth replacement rate is clade-specific. This discovery also provides more information to understand the Ruyang sauropod assemblage, which includes one of the most giant dinosaurs to have walked our Earth (Ruyangosaurus giganteus).

The equivalent effective length parameter is introduced into the vibration equation of short cable; that is, the boundary condition that affects the test accuracy of short cable force is equivalent to the calculated length of cable. By attaching an additional mass block to the cable, new parameters are introduced to identify the tension force. Vibration differential equations are established for cable with and without addition mass block, taking new parameters into account, such as equivalent effective length and added mass. By solving the equations using the RITZ method, the analytical relationship between the natural frequency of cable and equivalent effective length before and after a mass block is added can be developed. It can also develop an analytical method to identify the equivalent effective length depending on whether the added mass block is attached. Then, tension force of short length cable can be evaluated by measuring its natural frequency based on equivalent effective length. The method is verified by field tests. The tests results indicate the new method mentioned in this paper is going to largely improve the accuracy of tension force measurement of short length cable.

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is currently thought to involve endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). We investigated whether superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) can be used to label EPCs. Mononuclear cells from 10 moyamoya disease patients were isolated, and cluster of differentiation 133 (CD133) positive cells sorted by magnetic-activated cell sorting were cultured in vitro. The positive rates of CD133, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-2, and cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34) were detected by flow cytometry. The cells were co-cultured with fluorescence labeled Dil-acetylated-low-density lipoprotein (Dil-ac-LDL) and Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1) to observe the endocytosis of Dil-ac-LDL and binding to UEA-1. Prussian blue staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the endocytosis of different SPIO concentrations in EPCs, and CCK-8 was used to detect proliferation of cells transfected with different concentrations of SPIO. T2 weighted imaging (T2WI) signals from magnetic resonance imaging after SPIO endocytosis were compared. Positive rates of CD133, VEGFR-2, and CD34 on sorted mononuclear cells were 68.2±3.8, 57.5±4.2, and 36.8±6.5%, respectively. The double-positive expression rate of CD34 and VEGFR-2 was 19.6±4.7%, and 83.1±10.4% of cells, which showed the uptake of Dil-ac-LDL and binding with UEA-1. The labeling efficiencies of SPIO at concentrations of 25 and 50 μg/mL were higher than for 12.5 μg/mL. The proliferation of cells was not influenced by SPIO concentrations of 12.5 and 25 μg/mL. After labeling, the T2WI of EPCs was reduced. The concentration of 25 μg/mL SPIO had high labeling efficiency detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without decreased EPCs viability.

ObjectiveMaturity-onset diabetes of the young caused by hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha (HNF1A) variants (HNF1A-MODY) is a common form of monogenetic diabetes. Although patients with HNF1A-MODY might specifically benefit from sulfonylurea treatment, available methods for screening this specific type of diabetes are not cost-effective. This study was designed to establish an optimized clinical strategy based on multiple biomarkers to distinguish patients with HNF1A-MODY from clinically diagnosed early-onset type 2 diabetes (EOD) for genetic testing in a Chinese population.Research design and methodsA case–control study including 125 non-related young patients with EOD and 15 probands with HNF1A-MODY (cohort 1) was conducted to evaluate reported biomarkers for HNF1A-MODY. A cut-off for the fasting insulin (Fins) level, the 97.5 percentile of 150 healthy subjects with normal components of metabolic syndrome (cohort 2), was used to filter out individuals with obvious insulin resistance (Fins 1.12 mmol/L), the sensitivity and specificity of HNF1A-CSS were 100% and 69.3%, respectively. In the pooled analysis of all young patients, HNF1A-CSS displayed 90.5% sensitivity and 73.6% specificity for identifying patients with HNF1A-MODY among those with clinically diagnosed EOD.ConclusionOur HNF1A-CSS is useful for distinguishing patients with HNF1A-MODY from patients with EOD in a young Chinese population.

As an important part of the transportation network, the reliability of bridge structures is of great significance to people’s personal safety, as well as to the national economy. In order to evaluate the performance of complex bridge structures, their mechanical behavior and fundamental characteristics need to be studied. Structural health monitoring (SHM) has been introduced into bridge engineering, and the structural response assessment, load effects monitoring, and reliability evaluation have been developed based on the collected SHM information. In this study, a performance evaluation method for complex bridge structures based on non-destructive field loading tests is proposed. The cable-stayed bridge in Guangxi with the largest span (Pingnan Xiangsizhou Bridge) was selected as the research object, and loading on the main girder was transferred to the piers and tower through the stay cables, whose structural responses are critical in the process of bridge operation. Therefore, the field loading tests—including deflection and strain testing of the main girder, as well as cable force tests—were also conducted for Pingnan Xiangsizhou Bridge by using non-destructive measurement techniques (multifunctional static strain test system, radar interferometric deformation measurement technology, etc.). Based on the numerically simulated results of a finite element model for Pingnan Xiangsizhou Bridge, reasonable field loading test conditions and loading arrangement were determined. Non-destructive field loading test results showed that the quality of the bridge’s construction is up to standard, due to a good agreement between the calculated and measured frequencies of the bridge. In addition, the calibration coefficients of displacement and strain were less than 1, indicating that Pingnan Xiangsizhou Bridge has satisfactory stiffness and strength.

The hanger often needs to be replaced many times during the operation period of hanger arch bridges. To ensure the safety of the hanger replacement in the construction process of pocket hanging, the structural response in the whole construction process needs to be precisely controlled. In this paper, aiming at half-through arches with a suspended deck by cable hangers, the precise displacement controlling method for hanger replacement of an arch bridge based on the pocket hanging method has been proposed. Firstly, the equivalent model of an arch bridge in the hanger replacement process is established, and the boundary conditions of the equivalent model are calculated precisely. Secondly, in the hanger replacement process, including old hanger demolition and new hanger installation, the precise displacement expressions of the suspended deck are derived on the basis of the equivalent model. Finally, the correctness and feasibility of the proposed precise displacement controlling method are verified by the hanger replacement engineering of an arch bridge. Through this research on the hanger replacement of an arch bridge, the equivalent model adopted in this paper has been proven accurate, and only partial boundary conditions need to be considered in practical engineering applications to get accurate results. Meanwhile, the calculation results are accurate enough through the practical engineering verification, and the precise displacement controlling method is feasible in the hanger replacement process of an arch bridge based on the pocket hanging method. It is also found that satisfactory results can be achieved using hanger demolition and installation by equal step length.

The hinged slab bridge is widely used in medium- and small-span bridges because of its simple structure and convenient construction. However, hinge joints damage is the main defect of this kind of bridge, and it is difficult to express the deterministic damage degree of hinge joints in the detection process. A system reliability evaluation method considering fuzzy detection information of hinge joints damage and member failure credibility is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the membership function is used to quantitatively express the fuzzy detection information of hinge joints, and the fuzzy variable is transformed to an equivalent random variable. Secondly, the functional relationship between the transverse distribution coefficient and hinge joints damage is constructed by the modified hinge-jointed plate method and response surface method, and the reliability of the member considering the fuzzy detection information of hinge joints damage is calculated by the first-order second-moment method (FOSM). Then, the failure credibility is introduced to represent the different possibilities of system failure caused by member failure, and a system reliability assessment method of different failure criteria considering member failure credibility is established based on copula theory. Finally, the applicability of the proposed method is verified by taking the reinforced concrete hinged slab bridge as a numerical example.

The system reliability evaluation of a bridge structure is a complicated problem. Previous studies have commonly used approximate estimation methods, such as the wide bounds method and the narrow bounds method, but neither could obtain an accurate result. In recent years, the copula theory has been introduced into the system reliability evaluation, which can obtain more accurate results than the approximate methods. However, most studies simply construct binary copula functions to consider the joint failure of two failure modes. For a complex bridge structure composed of multiple components and failure modes, the joint failure of multiple failure modes needs to be considered. Before evaluating the system reliability, it is necessary to determine the failure criteria of the system. Different failure criteria for simply supported beam bridges have been proposed. However, there is no standard available to determine which failure criterion to choose, and the selection of failure criteria is ambiguous. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to evaluate the system reliability of a simply supported beam bridge by considering multiple failure criteria based on multivariate copulas and the analytic hierarchy process entropy weight (AHP−EW) method. The method first considers multiple failure criteria comprehensively and constructs multivariate copulas for the joint failure of multiple components in a bridge system reliability evaluation. The AHP−EW method is a comprehensive weighting method combining the analytic hierarchy process and entropy weight methods, which is used to establish the hierarchical analysis model between system reliability and multiple failure criteria. By considering the joint failure of multiple failure modes in the system reliability evaluation under a single failure criterion, multivariate copula functions were constructed. In order to verify the applicability of the proposed bridge system reliability method, a simply supported reinforced concrete (RC) hollow slab bridge composed of nine slab segments was selected as the numerical example. The results indicate that the method proposed in this paper could evaluate the bridge system reliability more comprehensively and reasonably.

The recent emergence of 2D van der Waals magnets down to atomic-layer thickness provides an exciting platform for exploring quantum magnetism and spintronics applications. The van der Waals nature stabilizes the long-range ferromagnetic order as a result of magnetic anisotropy. Furthermore, giant tunneling magnetoresistance and electrical control of magnetism have been reported. However, the potential of 2D van der Waals magnets for magnonics, magnon-based spintronics, has not been explored yet. Here, we report the experimental observation of long-distance magnon transport in quasi-two-dimensional van der Waals antiferromagnet MnPS_{3}, which demonstrates the 2D magnets as promising material candidates for magnonics. As the 2D MnPS_{3} thickness decreases, a shorter magnon diffusion length is observed, which could be attributed to the surface-impurity-induced magnon scattering. Our results could pave the way for exploring quantum magnonics phenomena and designing future magnonics devices based on 2D van der Waals magnets.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) has been widely used in all kinds of bridges. It is significant to accurately assess the serviceability and reliability of bridge subjected to severe conditions by SHM technique. Bridge deflection as an essential evaluation index can reflect structural condition perfectly. In this study, an approach for deflection calculation and reliability assessment of simply supported bridge is presented. Firstly, a bridge deflection calculation method is proposed based on modal flexibility and Kriging method improved by artificial bee colony algorithm. Secondly, a dynamic Bayesian network is employed to evaluate the deflection reliability combined with monitoring results which include modal frequency, mode shape, environmental temperature, and humidity. A linear regression model is established to analyze the relationship between modal parameters and environmental factors. Thirdly, a simply supported bridge is constructed and monitored to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results reveal that the proposed method can precisely calculate the bridge deflection. Finally, the time-dependent reliabilities of two cases are computed and the effects of monitoring factors on bridge deflection reliability are analyzed by sensitivity parameter. It indicates that the reliability is negatively correlated with temperature and more sensitive to mode shape than other three factors.

The present study examines the negative group delay (NGD) behavior of a circular curved (CC) coupled-line (CL) microstrip circuit with a bandpass (BP) characteristic. The novel CC CL-based circuit is derived from the curved li-topology which demonstrates BPNGD functionality. The basic theoretical approach enabling the BP-NGD analysis is introduced. The BP-NGD function main properties related to NGD center frequency, NGD value, and NGD bandwidth are defined. Despite the progressive NGD research work, it was wondered how the RF printed circuit board trace geometrical parameters such as curvature radius and angle change the microwave communication parameters. To verify the BP-NGD concept feasibility, different microstrip prototypes are designed, simulated, fabricated, and tested as the proof of concept (POC). Thus, a developed empirical study of CC microstrip structures corroborating well-correlated simulations and experimental results is examined. Moreover, deep sensitivity analyses for geometrical design parameters were performed using commercial tool full-wave simulations. The obtained results provide insights into the effects of CC-structure inter-space and curvature angles on the inherent BP-NGD parameters. The proposed NGD circuit is potentially useful in the future in RF and microwave engineering for signal delay correction. Additionally, it helps in understanding the characteristics of microstrip PCB traces that are important for optimizing signal integrity (SI), power integrity (PI), and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Maturity-onset diabetes of the young 4 (MODY4) is caused by mutations of PDX1; its prevalence and clinical features are not well known. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of MODY4 in Chinese people clinically diagnosed with early-onset type 2 diabetes (EOD), and to evaluate the relationship between the PDX1 genotype and the clinical phenotype. Method: The study cohort consisted of 679 patients with EOD. PDX1 mutations were screened by DNA sequencing, and their pathogenicity was evaluated by functional experiments and American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines. MODY4 was diagnosed in individuals with diabetes who carry a pathogenic or likely pathogenic PDX1 variant. All reported cases were reviewed for analyzing the genotype-phenotype relationship. Result: 4 patients with MODY4 were identified, representing 0.59% of this Chinese EOD cohort. All the patients were diagnosed before 35 years old, either obese or not obese. Combined with previously reported cases, the analysis revealed that the carriers of homeodomain variants were diagnosed earlier than those with transactivation domain variants (26.10 ± 11.00 vs 41.85 ± 14.66 years old, P< .001), and the proportions of overweight and obese individuals with missense mutation were higher than those with nonsense or frameshift mutations (27/ 34 [79.4%] vs 3/8 [37.5%], P = .031). Conclusion: Our study suggested that MODY4 was prevalent in 0.59% of patients with EOD in a Chinese population. It was more difficult to identify clinically than other MODY subtypes owning to its clinical similarity to EOD. Also, this study revealed that there is some relationship between genotype and phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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