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Background and aims: Long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) causes intestinal dysfunction, including constipation, diarrhea, or enteric peritonitis. However, the etiology and pathogenesis of these complications are still unclear and there are no specific drugs available in the clinic. This study aims to determine whether Astragaloside IV (AS IV) has therapeutic value on PD-induced intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction in vivo and in vitro.Methods: We established two different long-term PD treatment mice models by intraperitoneally injecting 4.25% dextrose-containing peritoneal dialysis fluid (PDF) in uremia mice and normal mice, which were served as controls. In addition, PDF was applied to T84 cells in vitro. The therapeutic effects of AS IV on PD-induced intestinal dysfunction were then examined by histopathological staining, transmission electron microscopy, western blotting, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The protein levels of protein kinase B (AKT), glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) and β-catenin were examined after administration of AS IV.Results: In the present study, AS IV maintained the intestinal crypt, microvilli and desmosome structures in an orderly arrangement and improved intestinal epithelial permeability with the up-regulation of tight junction proteins in vivo. Furthermore, AS IV protected T84 cells from PD-induced damage by improving cell viability, promoting wound healing, and increasing the expression of tight junction proteins. Additionally, AS IV treatment significantly increased the levels of phosphorylation of AKT, inhibited the activity GSK-3β, and ultimately resulted in the nuclear translocation and accumulation of β-catenin.Conclusion: These findings provide novel insight into the AS IV-mediated protection of the intestinal epithelial barrier from damage via the AKT-GSK3β-β-catenin signal axis during peritoneal dialysis.

Congestion is a kind of expression of instability of traffic network. Traffic signal control keeping traffic network stable can reduce the congestion of urban traffic. In order to improve the efficiency of urban traffic network, this study proposes a decentralized traffic signal control strategy based on backpressure algorithm used in Wi-Fi mesh networks for packets routing. Backpressure based traffic signal control algorithm can stabilize urban traffic network and achieve maximum throughput. Based on original backpressure algorithm, the variant parameter and penalty function are considered to balance the queue differential and capacity of downstream links in urban traffic network. For each traffic phase of intersections, phase weight is computed using queue differential and capacity of downstream links, which fixed the deficiency of infinite queue capacity in original backpressure algorithm. It is proved that the extended backpressure traffic signal control algorithm can maintain stability of urban traffic network, and also can prevent queue spillback, so as to improve performance of whole traffic network. Simulations are carried out in Vissim using Vissim COM programming interface and Visual Studio development tools. Evaluation results illuminate that it can get better performance than the backpressure algorithm just based on queue length differential in average queue length and delay of traffic network.

AimsThis study used entropy- and cross entropy-based methods to explore the cardiorespiratory coupling of depressive patients, and thus to assess the values of those entropy methods for identifying depression patients with different disease severities.MethodsElectrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration signals from 69 depression patients were recorded simultaneously for 5 min. Patients were classified into three groups according to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores: group Non-De (HDRS 0–7), Mid-De (HDRS 8–17), and Con-De (HDRS >17). Sample entropy (SEn), fuzzy measure entropy (FMEn) and high-frequency power (HF) were computed on the original RR interval time series and breath-to-breath interval time series. Cross sample entropy (CSEn) and cross fuzzy measure entropy (CFMEn) were computed on interval time series resampled at 2 Hz and 4 Hz, respectively. The difference among three patient groups and correlation between entropy values and HDRS scores were analyzed by statistical analysis. Surrogate data were also employed to confirm the validation of entropy measures in this study.ResultsA consistent increasing trend has been found among most entropy measures from Non-De, to Mid-De, and to Con-De groups, and a significant (p < 0.05) difference in FMEn of RR intervals exists between Non-De and Mid-De or Con-De groups. Significant differences have been also found in all cross entropies, between Non-De and Con-De groups and between Mid-De and Con-De groups. Furthermore, significant correlations also exist between HDRS scores and FMEn of RR intervals (R = 0.24, p < 0.05), CSEn at 4 Hz (R = 0.26, p < 0.05) or 2 Hz (R = 0.28, p < 0.05) resampling, and CFMEn at 4 Hz (R = 0.31, p < 0.01) or 2 Hz (R = 0.30, p < 0.05) resampling. A significant difference of cardiorespiratory coupling parameters between different depression stages and significant correlations between entropy measures and depression severity both indicate central autonomic dysregulation in depression patients and reflect varying degrees of vagal modulation reduction among different depression levels. Analysis based on surrogate data confirms that the non-linear properties of the physiological signals played a major role in depression recognition.ConclusionThe current study demonstrates the potential of cardiorespiratory coupling in the auxiliary diagnosis of depression based on the entropy method.

Podocytes, dynamic polarized cells wrapped around glomerular capillaries, are an essential component of the glomerular filtration barrier. BK channels consist of one of the slit diaphragm (SD) proteins in podocytes, interact with the actin cytoskeleton, and play vital roles in glomerular filtration. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) complexes regulate expression of SD proteins, as well as cytoskeleton structure, in podocytes. However, whether mTOR complexes regulate podocyte BK channels is still unclear. Here, we investigated the mechanism of mTOR complex regulation of BK channels via real-time PCR, western blot, immunofluorescence, and patch clamping. Inhibiting mTORC1 with rapamycin or downregulating Raptor had no significant effect on BK channel mRNA and protein levels and bioactivity. However, the dual inhibitor of mTORC1 and mTORC2 AZD8055 and short hairpin RNA targeting Rictor downregulated BK channel mRNA and protein levels and bioactivity. In addition, MK2206, GF109203X, and GSK650394, which are inhibitors of Akt, PKCα, and SGK1, respectively, were employed to test the downstream signaling pathway of mTORC2. MK2206 and GF109203X had no effect on BK channel protein levels. MK2206 caused an obvious decrease in the current density of the BK channels. Moreover, GSK650394 downregulated the BK channel protein and mRNA levels. These results indicate mTORC2 not only regulates the distribution of BK channels through Akt, but also modulates BK channel protein expression via SGK1 in podocytes.

On the foundation of the original backpressure-based traffic light control algorithm, a distributed cooperative backpressure-based traffic light control method is proposed in this paper. The urban traffic network is modeled as a smart agent-controlled queuing network, in which the intersection agents exchange the queue length information and the selected activating light phase information of neighboring intersections through communications and determine the activating light phase at each time slot according to local traffic information. The improved phase pressure computation method considers the phase state of downstream intersections instead of only the queue length of the local intersections. Light phase switching coordination among adjacent intersections is achieved using the consensus-based bundle algorithm, in which the cooperative light phase switching problem is viewed as a task assignment issue among adjacent intersections. Simulation results illustrated that the proposed cooperative backpressure-based traffic light control method obtained better performance than the original backpressure-based and fixed-time traffic control methods.

The traffic behaviours of commuters may cause traffic congestion during peak hours. Advanced Traffic Information System can provide dynamic information to travellers. Due to the lack of timeliness and comprehensiveness, the provided information cannot satisfy the travellers’ needs. Since the assumptions of traditional route choice model based on Expected Utility Theory conflict with the actual situation, a route choice model based on Game Theory is proposed to provide reliable route choice to commuters in actual situation in this paper. The proposed model treats the alternative routes as game players and utilizes the precision of predicted information and familiarity of traffic condition to build a game. The optimal route can be generated considering Nash Equilibrium by solving the route choice game. Simulations and experimental analysis show that the proposed model can describe the commuters’ routine route choice decision exactly and the provided route is reliable.

Travel time is one of the most critical indexes to describe urban traffic operating states. How to obtain accurate and robust travel time estimates, so as to facilitate to make traffic control decision-making for administrators and trip-planning for travelers, is an urgent issue of wide concern. This paper proposes a reliable estimation method of urban link travel time using multi-sensor data fusion. Utilizing the characteristic analysis of each individual traffic sensor data, we first extract link travel time from license plate recognition data, geomagnetic detector data and floating car data, respectively, and find that their distribution patterns are similar and follow logarithmic normal distribution. Then, a support degree algorithm based on similarity function and a credibility algorithm based on membership function are developed, aiming to overcome the conflicts among multi-sensor traffic data and the uncertainties of single-sensor traffic data. The reliable fusion weights for each type of traffic sensor data are further determined by integrating the corresponding support degree with credibility. A case study was conducted using real-world data from a link of Jingshi Road in Jinan, China and demonstrated that the proposed method can effectively improve the accuracy and reliability of link travel time estimations in urban road systems.

It has been well established that change in emotion state is associated with the change in physiological signals. This paper aimed to investigate the differences of finger photoplethysmography (PPG) morphological features and feature time series between happiness and sadness emotion states. Fifty-three volunteers were enrolled. Finger PPG signals were recorded under two emotion states with a random measurement order (first happiness emotion measurement then sadness or reverse). Seven morphological features were extracted, including three temporal features (T, T1 and T2), three area features (A, A1 and A2) and one amplitude feature (Amp). Five variability indices from the 5-min feature time series were calculated, including two time-domain indices (SDNN and RMSSD) and three frequency-domain indices (LFn, HFn and LF/HF). Results showed that temporal features T2 and T were critical features for identifying the two emotion states since not only they themselves but also their three frequency-domain variability indices had significant differences between the two emotion states. For area features, only two frequency-domain variability indices of LFn and HFn for A1 feature time series reported significant differences. Amplitude feature Amp itself, as well as its variability indices, did not had significant differences between the two emotion states. These results indicated that temporal features were more sensitive to response to emotion change than area and amplitude features. Moreover, compared with time-domain variability indices, frequency-domain variability indices were more suitable for short-term 5-min time series analysis for exploring the inherent but slight change due to the emotion effect.

This study’s aim was to apply permutation entropy (PE) and permutation min-entropy (PME) over an RR interval time series to quantify the changes in cardiac activity among multiple emotional states. Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals were recorded under six emotional states (neutral, happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust) in 60 healthy subjects at a rate of 1000 Hz. For each emotional state, ECGs were recorded for 5 min and the RR interval time series was extracted from these ECGs. The obtained results confirm that PE and PME increase significantly during the emotional states of happiness, sadness, anger, and disgust. Both symbolic quantifiers also increase but not in a significant way for the emotional state of fear. Moreover, it is found that PME is more sensitive than PE for discriminating non-neutral from neutral emotional states.

The creep characteristics of concrete dikes under the action of compressive stress and seawater erosion were tested, and the effects of stress level, erosion solution type and mass fraction on the creep characteristics of concrete dikes under seawater erosion were studied. The results showed that when the erosion time was the same and the stress on the specimen was the same, the expansion strain generated by soaking in Na2SO4 solution was the largest, followed by the expansion strain generated by soaking in water, and the expansion strain generated by soaking in NaCl solution was the smallest. When the erosion time and the type of solution are the same, the expansion strain of the specimen subjected to pressure is less than that of the specimen not subjected to pressure. When the stress on the specimen is the same and relatively small, the uniaxial compressive strength of the specimen is the largest after being eroded by Na2SO4 solution, followed by the uniaxial compressive strength after being soaked in water, and the uniaxial compressive strength of the specimen is the smallest after being eroded by NaCl solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The car-following model is an important micro-traffic model for simulating car-following behaviour in traffic engineering and research studies. Conventional car-following models are always presented using mathematical equations reflecting ideal traffic conditions. In the big data era, data-driven models become a popular trend. In this study, a data-driven car-following model based on the rough set theory is proposed to consider information hidden in a field data set. On the basis of field data obtained from measurement devices such as the next generation simulation (NGSIM) trajectory data set, and using the methods of the rough set theory, an optimal decision rule set is established. Redundant attributes and redundant attribute values are removed for simplifying the car-following behaviour decision problem. Attribute significance and weights are computed for selecting matching rules. A car-following behaviour decision algorithm is designed to choose appropriate rules to determine the follower's velocity according to current observations. Simulations illustrate that the proposed data-driven car-following model can simulate the micro-traffic behaviour of followers well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have indicated that physiological parameters change with different emotion states. This study aimed to quantify the changes of vascular function at different emotion and sub-emotion states. Twenty young subjects were studied with their finger photoplethysmographic (PPG) pulses recorded at three distinct emotion states: natural (1 minute), happiness and sadness (10 minutes for each). Within the period of happiness and sadness emotion states, two sub-emotion states (calmness and outburst) were identified with the synchronously recorded videos. Reflection index (RI) and stiffness index (SI), two widely used indices of vascular function, were derived from the PPG pulses to quantify their differences between three emotion states, as well as between two sub-emotion states. The results showed that, when compared with the natural emotion, RI and SI decreased in both happiness and sadness emotions. The decreases in RI were significant for both happiness and sadness emotions (both P< 0.01), but the decreases in SI was only significant for sadness emotion (P< 0.01). Moreover, for comparing happiness and sadness emotions, there was significant difference in RI (P< 0.01), but not in SI (P= 0.9). In addition, significant larger RI values were observed with the outburst sub-emotion in comparison with the calmness one for both happiness and sadness emotions (both P< 0.01) whereas significant larger SI values were observed with the outburst sub-emotion only in sadness emotion (P< 0.05). Moreover, gender factor hardly influence the RI and SI results for all three emotion measurements. This pilot study confirmed that vascular function changes with diffenrt emotion states could be quantified by the simple PPG measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical study on the buckling of axially compressed cylindrical shells with arbitrary thickness imperfections (nonaxisymmetric and axisymmetric). First, the basic governing partial differential equations, which consider thickness imperfections, are obtained. Second, a unified method that combines the perturbation method and Fourier series expansion is developed to derive buckling load, radial displacement and stress function, that are expressed by triple series in terms of thickness imperfection parameter and buckling modes up to arbitrary order. Third, two patterns of nonaxisymmetric thickness imperfections, which are modal and exponential, are, respectively, investigated. These results are absolutely new to literature. When modal thickness imperfection becomes axisymmetric, the buckling loads degenerate to the known results. In addition to the analytical investigation, analyses and comparisons are also carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]