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African swine fever is one of the most serious viral diseases that affects domestic and wild pigs. The causative agent, African swine fever virus (ASFV), has evolved sophisticated immune evasion mechanisms that target both innate and adaptive immune responses. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully understood. Here, we report that ASFV E184L protein inhibits host innate immune response via targeting the stimulator of IFN genes (STING)-mediated signaling pathway in both human embryonic kidney HEK-293T cells and porcine pulmonary alveolar macrophages. E184L interacts with STING, impairing dimerization and oligomerization of STING but not affecting its puncta formation at the perinuclear region. Furthermore, E184L disrupts STING-TBK1-IRF3 complex formation, leading to inhibition of STING phosphorylation, and IRF3 dimerization and nuclear translocation. The 1–20 aa region in E184L is essential for E184L-STING interaction and blocking IL-1β and type I IFN production. Deletion of E184L in ASFV considerably impairs antagonistic function of the virus in suppression of the STING-mediated antiviral response, an effect that is reversible by introduction of E184L. Importantly, the virulence of mutant ASFV lacking E184L is reduced in pigs compared with its parental virus due to induction of higher IFN production in vivo. Our findings indicate that ASFV E184L is an important antagonist of IFN signaling to evade host innate immune antiviral responses, which improves our understanding of immune evasion mechanisms of ASFV.

Ongoing outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have considerably damaged the pig industry in affected countries. Thus, a safe and effective vaccine is important to control African swine fever spread.

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious disease characterized by hemorrhagic fever, highly pathogenic, and severe mortality in domestic pigs caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV). ASFV is a large DNA virus and primarily infects porcine monocyte macrophages. The interaction between ASFV and host macrophages is the major reason for gross pathological lesions caused by ASFV. Necroptosis is an inflammatory programmed cell death and plays an important immune role during virus infection. However, whether and how ASFV induces macrophage necroptosis and what effect of necroptosis signaling on host immunity and ASFV infection remains unknown. This study uncovered that ASFV activates the necroptosis signaling in the spleen, lung, liver, and kidney from ASFV-infected pigs. And macrophage necroptosis also was induced by ASFV infection in vitro. Further evidence showed that the macrophage necroptosis is independent of TNF-α-RIPK1 or TLR-TRIF pathway but depends on Z-DNA binding protein 1 (ZBP1). ASFV infection upregulates the expression of ZBP1 and RIPK3 to consist of the ZBP1-RIPK3-MLKL necrosome and further activates macrophage necroptosis. Subsequently, multiple Z-DNA sequences were predicted to be present in the ASFV genome. And the Z-DNA signals were further confirmed to be present and colocalized with ZBP1 in the cytoplasm and nucleus of ASFV-infected cells. Moreover, ZBP1-mediated macrophage necroptosis caused the extracellular release of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β induced by ASFV infection. Finally, we demonstrated that ZBP1-mediated necroptosis signaling significantly inhibits ASFV replication in host macrophages. Our findings uncovered a novel mechanism by which ASFV induces macrophage necroptosis by facilitating Z-DNA accumulation and ZBP1 necrosome assembly, providing significant insights into the pathogenesis of ASFV infection.ImportanceASFV infection causes an acute, febrile, hemorrhagic, and severely lethal disease in swine, which seriously threatens the global porcine industry. Understanding the interaction mechanism between ASFV and host macrophages during infection is essential for elucidating the pathogenesis of ASFV. To our knowledge, this study revealed the interaction mechanism between ASFV infection and host macrophage necroptosis. The results showed that ASFV infection induces macrophage necroptosis through ZBP1 activation instead of the TNF-α-RIPK1 or TLR-TRIF pathway. ASFV infection promotes Z-DNA accumulation, which causes ZBP1-RIPK3-MLKL necrosome assembly and macrophage necroptosis. The ZBP1-mediated necroptosis signaling facilitates the extracellular release of proinflammatory cytokines, inhibiting ASFV replication in host macrophages. This study found a new interaction mechanism between ASFV and host macrophages, which may help understand the pathogenesis caused by ASFV infection.

Penetration of renewable energy sources (RESs) in power systems increase all over the world to overcome current challenges, most importantly environmental issues. Beside advantages of RESs, their integration into the power systems have imposed various challenges considering uncertain and intermitted power output. To cope with these challenges, utilizing energy storage systems with renewable energy sources alongside the demand response (DR) programs are considered as reliable solutions. On the other hand, in an uncertain environment, minimizing worst-case cost or regret is counted as an important criterion to evaluate operation of any system under uncertain parameters. Therefore, in this paper, optimal operation of power systems is solved under penetration of wind turbines, hydrogen storage system, and DR programs in an uncertain environment. To guarantee robust operation of the system under the worst-case scenario, a novel stochastic p-robust optimization method (SPROM) is proposed which combines both stochastic programming and robust optimization approaches where minimizes the worst-case cost or regret level. The performance of the developed model is evaluated considering a six-bus test system under two cases as stochastic optimization (SO) and SPROM. Obtained results show that the maximum regret level is reduced considerably using the proposed SPROM comparing with pure stochastic method.

Paravalvular leakage (PVL) after mitral valve replacement is a troublesome complication that may lead to severe symptoms and reoperation. Previous case reports on total thoracoscopic cardiac surgery without aortic cross-clamping for repairing late PVL are rare. We describe a 64-year-old man who had undergone aortic and mitral valve replacement via median sternotomy eight years earlier, and who recently developed cardiac failure due to severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and PVL in the posterior mitral annulus. During total thoracoscopic surgery with using the beating heart technique, direct closure of the PVL was achieved via pledgeted mattress sutures, and tricuspid valvuloplasty was routinely performed to treat TR. This case indicated that total thoracoscopic surgery on a beating heart may be an excellent option for treating PVL concomitant with TR.

To assess and compare the therapeutic effects of Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) and Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion (CLF) in the treatment of 4-level cervical.We performed a retrospective review on 39 patients with 4-level CSM who underwent ACDF or CLF in the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2010 to December 2018. The patients were divided into ACDF group and CLF group according to the treatment. The operative index was evaluated based on intraoperative blood loss and operation time. The functional outcomes including Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score and visual analogue scale (VAS) of axial pain were compared. The Cobb angle, Cobb angle improvement rate, range of motion (ROM) and ROM loss ratio were measured for radiographic evaluation.No major complications or deaths occurred. The average age at baseline was 55 years. There was no significant difference between the ACDF and CLF group in follow-up time (26.29 months, 25.39 months, P 0.05). The intraoperative blood loss was higher in the CLF group than in the ACDF group (692.67 ± 38.68 vs 392.14 ± 128.06, P 0.05). The operation time was longer in the CLF group than in the ACDF group (206.60 ± 49.37 vs 172.64 ± 31.96, P 0.05). Significant improvements in the VAS and JOA scores were observed in both groups (P 0.05). No significant difference in VAS was found between the ACDF and CLF groups (P 0.05). There was a significantly larger improvement rate of JOA score in the ACDF group than in the CLF group (60.9% ± 9.57% vs 31.5% ± 15.70%, P 0.05). There were two (9.6%) cases with complications In the ACDF group, including one (4.8%) case of dysphagia and one (4.8%) case of pharyngodynia. In the CLF group, two patients (11.1%) developed CBoth ACDF and CLF were effective in the treatment of multi-level cervical spondylosis and ACDF is more suitable for patients with 4-level CSM.

Objective To assess and compare the pathological and radiological outcomes of multifidus degeneration in scoliosis and lumbar disc herniation patients. Methods We performed a retrospective review on 24 patients with scoliosis and 26 patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2017 to March2021. The patients were divided into scoliosis group and LDH group according to the treatment. The MRI fatty infiltration rate (FIR) of multifidus and strength of back muscle were calculated to evaluate muscle condition. Multifidus biopsy samples were obtained during surgery in the affected side at L4 or L5 segment in LDH group and on the concavity side of apical vertebrae in scoliosis group. The biopsy fatty infiltration degree (FID) and FIR in two groups, the FIR of affected and unaffected side in LDH group, and the FIR of concavity and convexity side in scoliosis group were compared. The correlation between concavity-convexity FIR difference and cobb angle in scoliosis group, back muscle strength and FIR in LDH group, FID and FIR in both groups was calculated respectively. Results The FIR was higher in scoliosis group than in LDH group, higher in concavity side than convexity side in scoliosis group (both P P P > 0.05). There was a positive correlation between concavity-convexity FIR difference and cobb angle, FIR and FID (both P P Conclusion The scoliosis patients showed more serious fatty infiltration than LDH patients and rare pathological findings were found in both diseases.

Nowadays, with the increasing proportion of osteoporosis in patients with lumbar degenerative diseases, doctors are facing the choice of intraoperative internal fixation methods. The purpose of this study was to compare and assess the clinical results of posterior bilateral pedicle screw fixation and lateral fixation in the extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) in patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis.The retrospective review was performed on 67 degenerative lumbar diseases patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis who underwent XLIF in our hospital from January 2018 to July 2021. Patients in this study were classified into lateral screw (LS) group, lateral self-locking plate (LP) group, and bilateral pedicle screw (BPS) group. The functional evaluation factors containing Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) of leg pain, and VAS of low back pain, radiological factors such as disc height (DH), lumbar lordotic (LL) angle, segmental lordotic (SL) angle, cage subsidence degree and interbody fusion degree were compared.Primary outcomes: no differences were observed with regards to the incidence of complications among LS, LP and BS group (P 0.05). The JOA and leg pain VAS were significantly improved after operation (P 0.05) and all groups demonstrated similar improvements in the leg pain VAS and JOA score (P 0.05). When comparing VAS of leg pain and JOA scores, no differences were identified among LS, LP and BPS groups (P 0.05). There are four thigh sensory complaint, one hip flexor weakness and one thigh pain occurred and no death was observed. There were significantly better DH, LL angle, SL angle, cage subsidence degree and interbody fusion degree in the BPS group than in LS and LP groups 1 year after surgery (P 0.05). The DH loss ratio, LL angle loss ratio, SL angle loss ratio in the BPS group was significantly lower than in the LP and LS groups (P 0.05). The 12-month SL angle improvement rate in the BPS group was significantly higher than in the LP and LS groups (20.20 ± 14.69, 0.73 ± 4.68, 6.20 ± 12.31, P 0.05).the BPS patients had significantly worse intraoperative blood loss and operation time than LS and LP patients (P 0.05).In lumbar diseases patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis, the bilateral pedicle screw fixation has better orthopedic effect than lateral internal fixation, and can better maintain the stability of the spine in the long-term follow-up, which is a better choice in XLIF surgery.

Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) is a promising target for treating metabolic syndrome and inflammatory diseases. Herein, we identified a new series of betulinic acid derivatives as potent TGR5 agonists, which show remarkable activity on human (h) and canine (c) TGR5 but exhibit unpromising activity on murine (m) TGR5. Species difference was also observed with many other reported TGR5 agonists. Therefore, we screened 29 amino acids which were conserved in hTGR5 and cTGR5 but different in mTGR5 and found a key amino acid, H88 in mTGR5 (Y89 in hTGR5), which contributed to the species difference. With the CRISPR/Cas9 system, the mTGR5H88Y mutation was introduced into mice, and the optimized compound 11d-Na displayed a significant glucose-lowering effect and stimulated GLP-1 and insulin secretion in TGR5H88Y mice but not in wild-type animals. Taken together, our study provides a useful tool to bridge the gap of species difference and discovers a potent TGR5 agonist for further investigation.

The ventricular pseudo-pseudoaneurysm is extremely scarce and potentially lethal because of acute hemopericardium and cardiac tamponade when a resultant complete tear occurs. Pseudo-pseudoaneurysms, which are formed by incomplete rupture of the myocardium, are usually small and limited to the thickness of the cardiac wall. We reported an uncommon case of a giant left ventricular pseudo-pseudoaneurysm, which was initially suspected by transthoracic echocardiography as a pseudoaneurysm.

Multigene family (MGF) gene products are increasingly reported to be implicated in African swine fever virus (ASFV) virulence and attenuation of host defenses, among which the MGF360-9L and MGF505-7R gene products are characterized by convergent but distinct mechanisms of immune evasion. Herein, a recombinant ASFV mutant, ASFV-Δ9L/Δ7R, bearing combinational deletions of MGF360-9L and MGF505-7R, was constructed from the highly virulent ASFV strain CN/GS/2018 of genotype II that is currently circulating in China. Pigs inoculated intramuscularly with 10

We previously reported that P-retigabine (P-RTG), a retigabine (RTG) analogue bearing a propargyl group at the nitrogen atom in the linker of RTG, displayed moderate anticonvulsant efficacy. Recently, our further efforts led to the discovery of HN37 (pynegabine), which demonstrated satisfactory chemical stability upon deleting the ortho liable -NH2 group and installing two adjacent methyl groups to the carbamate motif. HN37 exhibited enhanced activation potency toward neuronal Kv7 channels and high in vivo efficacy in a range of pre-clinical seizure models, including the maximal electroshock test and a 6 Hz model of pharmacoresistant limbic seizures. With its improved chemical stability, strong efficacy, and better safety margin, HN37 has progressed to clinical trial in China for epilepsy treatment.

The financial risks imposed from the uncertain parameters is a considerable issue in the optimization problem of renewable-based energy systems. Due to the various risks in renewable-based energy systems, a practical and simple risk measurement approach can be efficient in the risk-based strategy selection process. In this paper, the downside risk constraints (DRC) approach as a novel risk measurement approach is proposed to manage the imposed risks from the uncertain parameters over the stochastic problems. Therefore, various uncertainties, including solar irradiation, temperature, wind speed, electricity demand, and electricity market price uncertainties, are modeled using the DRC approach along with the stochastic programming. In addition, the compressed air energy storage (CAES) and demand response program (DRP) is implemented to manage the imposed risks. By using the proposed risk measurement method, the system operator can obtain a risk-strategy that is independent of scenarios. According to the obtained results, the expected cost of the stochastic problem is $ 6145.62, which by using the DRC approach, the system operator by paying the 3.4% ($ 6353.5) more cost can guarantee itself against the financial risks. The advantage of the proposed DRC approach is the conversion of the stochastic problem to a deterministic scenario-independent problem.

To compare the clinical efficacy of a new retractor-assisted Wiltse transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), minimally invasive TLIF (MIS-TLIF), and traditional posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in treating single-level lumbar degenerative diseases.A retrospective study was conducted by analyzing the clinical and imaging data of consecutive patients with single-level lumbar degenerative diseases who underwent the new retractor-assisted Wiltse TLIF, MIS-TLIF, or traditional PLIF. This study enrolled 87 concurrent patients between June 2016 and December 2019 (Wiltse TLIF 29 cases; MIS-TLIF 28 cases; PLIF 30 cases). The three groups were compared for perioperative indicators (including intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy time, bedridden time), creatine kinase (CK), visual analog score (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, intervertebral fusion rate, muscle atrophy, and fatty infiltration (including ratio of multifidus atrophy and ratio of lean-to-total cross-sectional area [CSA]).Intraoperative blood loss (F = 62.628, p 0.001), postoperative drainage volume (F = 72.048, p 0.001), and bedridden time (χWiltse TLIF assisted by the new retractor is a more convenient and minimally invasive surgical method than the traditional PLIF and MIS-TLIF methods, which are linked to a long learning curve and long operation and fluoroscopy time.

Energy management of virtual power plants (VPPs) directly affects operators’ operating profits and is also related to users’ comfort and economy. In order to provide a reasonable scheme for scheduling each unit of the VPP and to improve the operating profits of the VPP, this study focuses on the optimization of VPP energy management under the premise of ensuring the comfort of flexible load users. First, flexible loads are divided into time-shiftable load (TL), power-variable load (PL), and interruptible load (IL), and their accurate power consumption models are established, respectively. Then, aiming at maximizing the operation profits of a VPP operator, an optimization model of VPP energy management considering user comfort is proposed. Finally, the improved cooperative particle swarm optimization (ICPSO) algorithm is applied to solve the proposed VPP energy management optimization model, and the optimal scheduling scheme of VPP energy management is obtained. Taking a VPP in the coastal area of China as an example, results show that the optimization model proposed in this article has the advantages of good economy and higher user comfort. Meanwhile, the ICPSO algorithm has the characteristics of faster optimization speed and higher accuracy when solving the problem with multiple variables.

African swine fever (ASF), a devastating infectious disease in swine, severely threatens the global pig farming industry. Disease control has been hampered by the unavailability of vaccines. Here, we report that deletion of the QP509L and QP383R genes (ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R) from the highly virulent ASF virus (ASFV) CN/GS/2018 strain results in complete viral attenuation in swine. Animals inoculated with ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R at a 104 50% hemadsorbing dose (HAD50) remained clinically normal during the 17-day observational period. All ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R-infected animals had low viremia titers and developed a low-level p30-specific antibody response. However, ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R did not induce protection against challenge with the virulent parental ASFV CN/GS/2018 isolate. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that innate immune-related genes (Ifnb, Traf2, Cxcl10, Isg15, Rantes, and Mx1) were significantly lower in ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R-infected than in ASFV-infected porcine alveolar macrophages. In addition, ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R-infected pigs had low levels of interferon-β (IFN-β) based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These data suggest that deletion of ASFV QP509L/383R reduces virulence but does not induce protection against lethal ASFV challenge. IMPORTANCE African swine fever (ASF) is endemic to several parts of the word, with outbreaks of the disease devastating the swine farming industry; currently, no commercially available vaccine exists. Here, we report that deletion of the previously uncharacterized QP509L and QP383R viral genes completely attenuates virulence in the ASF virus (ASFV) CN/GS/2018 isolate. However, ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R-infected animals were not protected from developing an ASF infection after challenge with the virulent parental virus. ASFV-ΔQP509L/QP383R induced lower levels of innate immune-related genes and IFN-β than the parental virus. Our results increase our knowledge of developing an effective and live ASF attenuated vaccine.

Background To compare the clinical efficacy of new-type-retractor assisted wiltse approach Transforaminal lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF), Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIS-TLIF) and traditional Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF)in single-level lumbar degenerative diseases. Methods A retrospective study was conducted by analyzing clinical and imaging information of consecutive patients with single-level lumbar degenerative diseases who underwent either the new-type-retractor assisted wiltse approach TLIF or the MIS-TLIF or the traditional PLIF. 87 concurrent patients with similar age ,weight and severity of the imaging and symptom between June 2016 and December 2019 were included(wiltse approach 29 cases; MIS-TLIF 28 cases; PLIF 30 cases).The three groups were compared for perioperative indicators(including intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy time, bed time), creatine kinase (CK), Visual Analogue Scale(VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, intervertebral fusion rate, muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration(including ratio of multifidus atrophy and ratio of lean-to-total cross sectional area(CSA)). Results Intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume and bed time in MIS-TILF group and wiltse group was significantly lower than PLIF group. The operative time and intraoperative radiation time of MIS-TILF group was significantly longer than wiltse group and PLIF group. CK level in wiltse and MIS-TILF group were significantly lower than PLIF group 1 and 3 days after surgery. PLIF group back pain VAS score was higher than wiltse and MIS-TLIF group. PLIF group displayed a higher ODI and a lower JOA score than the wiltse and MIS-TLIF group 6 months and 12 months after surgery. There was no significant statistical difference in lower limb pain VAS score and intervertebral fusion rate. Ratio of multifidus atrophy in the PLIF group was significantly higher than the wiltse group and the MIS-TILF group. Ratio of lean-to-total CSA (cross-sectional area) in PLIF group was lower than wiltse group and MIS-TLIF group after surgery. There was no significant difference between wiltse group and MIS-TLIF group except that MIS-TLIF group showed longer operation time and intraoperative fluoroscopy time while lower blood loss and drainage volume. 2 cases of durotomy and 2 cases of incision fat liquefaction occurred in PLIF group, 1 case of skin edge necrosis was found in MIS-TILF group. Patients were followed up at 3 months,6moyhs,12months after surgery, The mean follow-up time of the patients was 12.14±2.78 months in wiltse group, 13.57±2.60 months in MIS-TLIF group, and 12.73±2.80 months in PLIF group, with no significant diffirence among 3 groups. (P༞0.05) Conclusion Wiltse approach TLIF assisted with the new-type retractor is a more convenient and simple minimally invasive surgical method than traditional PLIF and MIS-TLIF, which requires a long learning curve, long operation and fluoroscopy time.

African swine fever (ASF) has brought excellent barriers to swine production in China and the world. Studies have shown that extracellular vesicles mediate the RNA and protein spread of pathogenic microorganisms and RNA and proteins. After infection by pathogenic microorganisms causes significant differences in the proteins contained within extracellular vesicles. Based on the above studies, the extracellular vesicles were extracted from ASF virus (ASFV)-infected swine plasma. And qPCR, western blot, and confocal experiment were carried out. The research shows that extracted extracellular vesicles significantly promote the replication of ASFV in susceptible and non-susceptible cells Proteomics analysis of the extracellular vesicle proteins revealed that ASFV infection could cause significant differences in the protein profile. This study demonstrates that extracellular vesicles play a critical role in ASFV replication and transmission and cause significant differences in the protein profile encapsulated in extracellular vesicles.

To develop Senecavirus A (SVA) virus-like particles (VLPs), a recombinant prokaryotic expression plasmid pET28a-SVA-VP031 was constructed to co-express SVA structural proteins VP0, VP3 and VP1, according to the genomic sequence of the field isolate CH-FJ-2017 after the recombinant proteins were expressed in E .coli system, and purified by Ni+ ion chromatographic method. The SVA VLPs self-assemble with a high yield in vitro buffer. A typical VLPs with an average diameter of 25-30 nm which is similar to native virions by using TEM detection. Animals immunized by SVA VLPs shown that the VLPs induced high titers neutralizing antibodies in Guinea pigs. This study indicated that the VLPs produced with co-expressing SVA structural proteins VP0, VP3 and VP1 in prokaryotic system is a promising candidate and laid an important foundation for the development of a novel SVA VLPs vaccine.

Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) is a promising target for treating metabolic syndrome and inflammatory diseases. Herein, we identified a new series of betulinic acid derivatives as potent TGR5 agonists, which show remarkable activity on human (h) and canine (c) TGR5 but exhibit unpromising activity on murine (m) TGR5. Species difference was also observed with many other reported TGR5 agonists. Therefore, we screened 29 amino acids which were conserved in hTGR5 and cTGR5 but different in mTGR5 and found a key amino acid, H88 in mTGR5 (Y89 in hTGR5), which contributed to the species difference. With the CRISPR/Cas9 system, the mTGR5

Senecavirus A (SVA) is an oncolytic virus, which can propagate in human tumor cells and has been used as an oncolytic virotherapy candidate in humans. Besides, SVA circulates in pigs and causes vesicles and coalescing erosions on the snouts and coronary bands in infected pigs and results in neonatal morbidity. SVA has evolved the ability to suppress host innate immune response to benefit viral replication. SVA 3C

An improved variational inequality strategy for dealing with variational inequality in a Hilbert space is proposed in this article as an alternative; if Hilbert space is used as the domain of interest, the original extra-gradient method is proposed for resolving variational inequality. This improved variational inequality strategy can be used as a substitute for the original extra-gradient method in some situations. Mann’s mean value method, coupled with the widely used sub-gradient extra-gradient strategy, makes it possible to update all of the previous iterations in a single step, thus saving time and effort. All of this is made feasible via the use of Mann’s mean value technique in conjunction with the convex hull of all prior iterations of the algorithm. It is guaranteed that the mean value iteration will result in an acceptable resolution of a variational inequality issue as long as one or more of the criteria for the averaging matrix are fulfilled. Numerous experiments were performed in order to demonstrate the correctness of the theoretical conclusion obtained.

Four typical kinds of permafrost along the China-Russia crude oil pipeline are taken as research objects in this paper. It makes regression analysis on the relationships between rate of frost heaving, coefficient of thawing settlement and various influencing factors by frost heaving and thawing settlement tests, and the empirical formulas are proposed. The sensitivities of influencing factors of frost heaving and thawing settlement are calculated by grey correlation analysis method. It is shown from the results of frost heaving and thawing settlement tests that the coefficient of thawing settlement is positively correlated with water content and load, negatively correlated with dry density and initial freezing temperature. Sand in the Da Hinggan Mountains is affected by mud content, and its coefficient of thawing settlement is greater than that of silt, while the coefficient of thawing settlement of peat soil is linearly and positively correlated with the loss of ignition. Rate of frost heaving is positively correlated with water content and water content over plasticity, and negatively correlated with dry density. Among them, the rate of frost heaving of silt has significant correlation with saturation and compaction. The results of grey correlation analysis show that water content is the main factor affecting the coefficient of thawing settlement of fine grained soils, and the clay content has a great influence on silt, while load is the main factor affecting the coefficient of thawing settlement of sand and peat soil; the freezing-thawing cycle is the main factor affecting the rate of frost heaving of silty clay, and the water content and water content over plasticity are the main factors affecting the rate of frost heaving of silt. The results can provide scientific basis and theoretical reference for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and prevention of frost damage of buried pipelines in permafrost regions of the Da Hinggan Mountains.

With the continuous growth of the tertiary industry and residential loads, balancing the power supply and consumption during peak demand time has become a critical issue. Some studies try to alleviate peak load by increasing power generation on the supply side. Due to the short duration of peak load, this may cause redundant installation capacity. Alternatively, others attempt to shave peak demand by installing energy storage facilities. However, the aforementioned research did not consider interruptible load regulation when optimizing system operations. In fact, regulating interruptible load has great potential for reducing system peak load. In this paper, an interruptible load scheduling model considering the user subsidy rate is first proposed to reduce system peak load and operational costs. This model has fully addressed the constraints of minimum daily load reduction and user interruption load time. After that, by taking a community in Shanghai as an example, the improved chicken swarm optimization algorithm is applied to solve the interruptible load scheduling scheme. Finally, the simulation results validate the efficacy of the proposed optimization algorithm and indicate the significant advantages of the proposed model in alleviating the peak load and reducing operational costs.

Industrial customers of electric energy can obtain the energy from different sources such as electricity market, reciprocal agreements, small-scale turbines, batteries, wind generation, solar panel generation and the demand response program (DeRP) participants. Due to volatilities in electricity market, the overall price of energy provision for industrial consumers cannot be determined. In this work, a new optimization approach is developed for modeling the uncertainty of pool yield rate. Also, a new operation method of risk-averse proposed and contrasted with risk-neutral method is suggested. In this process, DeRP is utilized in order to decrease the overall price of electric energy for industrial customers. To show the efficiency of proposed method, fare comparison is presented between the deterministic approach and proposed optimization model with and without considering the DeRP. Obtained results show that, implementing the DeRP, the energy provision costs are reduced using risk-neutral and risk-averse approaches, respectively.

The fracture-filled gas hydrate commonly occurs in marine fine-grained sediments and the fracture of rock in permafrost regions. Gas production from fracture-filled methane hydrate by the CO2 replacement method has been investigated. The reservoir condition of permafrost-associated gas hydrate in Muri Basin, Qilian Mountains was taken as an example to set up the experimental parameters. CO2, CO2/N2 (3:1) and CO2/N2 (1:3) were selected for gas replacement. Based on the results from six sets of laboratory experiments, we can learn that the factors affecting gas replacement included gas composition for replacement, pressure and the morphology of the hydrate. When the pressure was lower than the equilibrium pressure of CO2/N2 binary hydrate and the equilibrium pressure of methane hydrate, there was a rapid decomposition process of methane hydrate and might be a transient water freezing process at the first few minutes. The ice around methane hydrate might inhibit the further decomposition of methane hydrate. A higher replacement rate and accumulative methane recovery ratio can be obtained when the morphology of methane hydrate was well distributed thin layer, which could be obtained with the ice layer by gradually increasing its temperature. The thin layer of hydrate is the main morphology of the fracture-filled gas hydrate found in the Qilian Mountain permafrost. Therefore, the gas production from hydrate by CO2/N2 (3:1) replacement might be a good choice for gas production from hydrate in Muri Basin, Qilian Mountain.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, and Chinese government adopts compulsory immunization measures for FMD. The adverse effects of FMD vaccine to pigs, cattle and goats have been reported increasingly frequent during the spring and autumn seasons when large numbers of farm livestock are vaccinated. The financial losses caused by vaccine adverse effects have been a serious concern for both farmers and primary prevention personnel. There are various causative factors reported to involve into adverse effect of FMD vaccine, including the inappropriate vaccine production, transportation and storage, livestock poor tolerance, and unqualified vaccinating manipulations. Symptomatic treatment and early drug prevention have a certain effect on the adverse effects. To analyze causes and propose countermeasures, in the current study possible reasons during the production and processing procedures of inactivated FMD vaccine were reviewed and corresponding countermeasures were recommended. The review may provide references for better use of vaccine to prevent FMD.

Picornaviruses, comprising important and widespread pathogens of humans and animals, have evolved to control apoptosis and autophagy for their replication and spread. However, the underlying mechanism of the association between apoptosis/autophage and viral pathogenicity remains unclear. In the present study, VP3 of picornaviruses was demonstrated to induce apoptosis and autophagy. Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), which served as a research model here, can strongly induce both apoptosis and autophagy in the skin lesions. By directly interacting with p53, FMDV-VP3 facilitates its phosphorylation and translocation, resulting in Bcl-2 family-mediated apoptosis and LC3-dependent autophagy. The single residue Gly129 of FMDV-VP3 plays a crucial role in apoptosis and autophagy induction and the interaction with p53. Consistently, the comparison of rescued FMDV with mutated Gly129 and parental virus showed that the Gly129 is indispensable for viral replication and pathogenicity. More importantly, the Gly129 locates at a bend region of random coil structure, the mutation of Gly to Ala remarkably shrunk the volume of viral cavity. Coincidentally, the Gly is conserved in the similarly location of other picornaviruses, including poliovirus (PV), enterovirus 71 (EV71), coxsackievirus (CV) and seneca valley virus (SVA). This study demonstrates that picornaviruses induce apoptosis and autophagy to facilitate its pathogenicity and the Gly is functional site, providing novel insights into picornavirus biology.

This study demonstrates that the deletion in the PK region occurred naturally in the FMDV genome. The isolated O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage FMDV with an 86-nt deletion in the PK region showed a pig-adapted characteristic that could cause clinical signs in swine but not bovines. Compared to the wild-type FMDV strain, which possesses full infection capacity in both swine and bovines, the recombinant virus with the 86-nt deletion in the PK region is deficient in causing disease in bovines. Deletion of the previously reported 43 nt in the PK region also led to significantly decreased pathogenicity of FMDV in bovines. This study indicates that the PK region is a novel determinant of the tropism and virulence of FMDV., Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is the causative agent of foot-and-mouth disease. It is characterized by genetic instability and different antigenic properties. The nonstructural protein 3A is a primary determinant of the tropism and virulence of Cathay topotype FMDVs. However, several other determinants are also speculated to be involved in viral tropism and virulence. Deletion of 43 nucleotides (nt) in the pseudoknot (PK) region of the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) has been found to coexist with the identified 3A deletion in Cathay topotype FMDV genomes. In this study, we isolated an O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage FMDV strain, O/GD/CHA/2015, that includes an 86-nt deletion in the PK region and shows a porcinophilic phenotype. To investigate the potential role of the PK region in viral pathogenicity, we generated a recombinant FMDV strain with an incomplete PK region and compared its virulence and pathogenesis to the intact FMDV strain in swine and bovines. Deletion of the 86 nt in the PKs had no major effects on the pathogenicity of the virus in swine but significantly attenuated its ability to infect bovine cells and cattle, indicating that the PK region is a newly discovered determinant of viral tropism and virulence. The role of the 43-nt deletion existing in the Cathay topotype FMDV was also investigated by evaluating the infection properties of genetically engineered viruses. Consistently, the 43-nt deletion in the PK region significantly decreased the pathogenicity of the virus in bovines. Overall, our findings suggest that the PK region deletion occurred naturally in the FMDV genome and that the PK region is highly associated with viral host range and functions as a novel determinant for FMDV pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE This study demonstrates that the deletion in the PK region occurred naturally in the FMDV genome. The isolated O/ME-SA/PanAsia lineage FMDV with an 86-nt deletion in the PK region showed a pig-adapted characteristic that could cause clinical signs in swine but not bovines. Compared to the wild-type FMDV strain, which possesses full infection capacity in both swine and bovines, the recombinant virus with the 86-nt deletion in the PK region is deficient in causing disease in bovines. Deletion of the previously reported 43 nt in the PK region also led to significantly decreased pathogenicity of FMDV in bovines. This study indicates that the PK region is a novel determinant of the tropism and virulence of FMDV.

Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is a type of icing crystallographic substance formed by natural gas and water under high pressure and low temperature conditions. In the process of drilling the NGH core samples, to ensure that the hydrate core is not isolated, the drilling fluid temperature in bore circulation must be reduced below freezing to guarantee that the NGH is in a relatively balanced and stable condition. Inorganic salt cations can not only lower the freezing point of drilling fluid but also reduce the viscosity of the drilling fluid itself. When drilling fluid loses viscosity, its capacity to carry rock dust and protect the bore wall will be weakened. This will cause buried bore and bore wall collapse accidents. Thus, how to ensure stable viscosity and rheological properties in the drilling fluid in an environment with inorganic salt cations is the key to smooth hydrate core sample removal. This article focuses on the effect of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ cations, at varying concentrations, on the rheological properties of polyacrylamide containing anionic and cationic PAMs (HPAM and CPAM) and xanthan gum solution after macromolecules are produced in the interaction of the flocculant (polyacrylamide) and tackifier (xanthan gum). Meanwhile, the cross-linking reaction mechanism of the PAM/XG macromolecule system and the mechanism of cations' disruption of the cross-linking process are also studied. The experimental results show that the CPAM/XG solution is more cation resistant than the HPAM/XG solution. The following analysis of the surface functional groups and the spatial structure of macromolecules by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy explains why cations change the macromolecular structure of the solution. Hence, it is easier for divalent cations to change the macromolecular structure than for monovalent cations to do so.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). To replicate efficiently in vivo, FMDV has evolved methods to circumvent host antiviral defense mechanisms, including those induced by interferons (IFNs). Previous research has focused on the effect of FMDV L(pro) and 3C(pro) on type I IFNs. In this study, FMDV VP3 was found to inhibit type II IFN signaling pathways. The overexpression of FMDV VP3 inhibited the IFN-γ-triggered phosphorylation of STAT1 at Tyr701 and the subsequent expression of downstream genes. Mechanistically, FMDV VP3 interacted with JAK1/2 and inhibited the tyrosine phosphorylation, dimerization and nuclear accumulation of STAT1. FMDV VP3 also disrupted the assembly of the JAK1 complex and degraded JAK1 but not JAK2 via a lysosomal pathway. Taken together, the results reveal a novel mechanism used by which FMDV VP3 counteracts the type II IFN signaling pathways.

The development of new energy industry together with environmental protection is converting photovoltaic industry in to a more attractive energy supply option. At the consumption level, solar PV is the most widespread generation technology due to infinity, easy maintenance and declining running costs. The dependence of solar energy generation on the tilt angle affects the power generation. Therefore, understanding the effects of tilt angles for managing PV generation is a key aspect for current and new customers with rooftop PV installations. Considering the differences of the solar radiation conditions in different regions, a solar radiation model on the inclined plane is established in this paper. Taking the rooftop photovoltaic system of Jilin Electric Power Research Institute as the research object and considering the factors such as latitude, solar radiation and covering areas, the tilt angle of solar panels is optimized. Based on the simulation results, it is found that the power generation efficiency of the solar panel with a tiled mode is lower than that with a tilt angle. But more solar panels can be installed in a fixed area if the installation mode is tile. And the tile installation mode can improve the total power generation of a fixed area.

This paper studies the critical current of second generation, high temperature superconducting coils under an external magnetic field experimentally and numerically. Two identical coils with different coated conductors are fabricated and tested under a direct current (DC) magnetic field along the axis of the coil. Then, a numerical model in cylindrical coordinates based on a sheet current model is built by taking the measured magnetic field dependency to analyze the current distribution and magnetic field distribution. The simulated critical currents of the coils under the DC magnetic field have good agreement with the measured results. We find that under the in-phase field, the critical current decreases as the magnetic field in the innermost turn is enhanced by the external field. Meanwhile, the anti-phase external field increases the critical current a bit at first, then decreases the critical current. We further discuss the critical current criteria of the coils, showing that the parallel field plays a more important role in critical current determination.

Seneca Valley virus (SVV) infection in pigs is associated with porcine idiopathic vesicular disease (PIVD). Outbreaks of SVV infection in pig herds have been reported in several Asia and Americas countries. Recently, a series of outbreaks of SVV infection occurred in China, Canada, Thailand and the United States. However, no available vaccines have been developed to limit the transmission of SVV. The SVV CH-FJ-2017 from Fujian province in China is a representative of the epidemic strains, and shows 98.5-99.9% capsid protein amino acid identity with the recent SVV strains. In the present study, we developed a SVV CH-FJ-2017 inactivated vaccine. The SVV was produced by cultivation of BHK-21 cells in roller bottles, inactivated with binary ethylenimine, and mixed with oil adjuvant (Montanide ISA). The immunogenicity of the inactivated vaccine in pigs was evaluated by neutralizing test, and the immunized pigs were challenged with SVV CH-FJ-2017. The results showed that animals receiving one dose of the inactivated vaccine (2 μg/dose) with oil adjuvant developed high neutralizing antibody titers and showed no clinical signs after virus challenge comparing with the non-vaccinated animals, indicating a good protective efficacy of the produced vaccine against SVV infection. This is the first reported SVV vaccine that can be used for control of SVV infection in pigs.

The role of the innate immune protein LGP2 (laboratory of genetics and physiology 2) in FMDV-infected cells remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate the antiviral role of LGP2 during FMDV infection. FMDV infection triggered LGP2 mRNA expression but reduced protein expression. Overexpression of LGP2 suppressed FMDV replication, and the inflammatory response was significantly inhibited by LGP2 in virus-infected cells. The N-terminal DExDc and the C-terminal regulatory domain regions of LGP2 were essential for LGP2-mediated antiviral activity against FMDV. Disruption of RNA recognition by LGP2 is suggested to abolish completely LGP2-mediated antiviral activity against FMDV. FMDV leader protein (Lpro), as well as the 3Cpro and 2B proteins were determined to possess the ability to induce reduction of LGP2 protein expression. 2B-induced reduction of LGP2 was independent of cleavage of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma; and the proteasomes, lysosomes or caspase-dependent pathways were not involved in this process. The C-terminal amino acids of 101–154 were essential for 2B-induced reduction of LGP2 and upregulation of inflammatory response. Direct interaction was demonstrated between LGP2 and 2B. Our results describe the antiviral role of LGP2 against FMDV and a novel antagonistic mechanism of FMDV that is mediated by 2B protein.

An enhancement-mode implant-free In 0.4 Ga 0.6 As metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) on GaAs substrate is demonstrated. The device features atomic layer deposition (ALD) 8 nm A1 2 0 3 gate oxide layer on 5 nm InGaP interfacial layer and is fabricated on GaAs substrate. Devices with 100 nm gate-length exhibit a threshold voltage of 0.72 V, an extrinsic transconductance of 170 mS/mm, and a saturation drain current of 250 mA/mm. The current gain cutoff frequency, f T , and the maximum frequency of oscillation, f max , of 79 GHz and 180 GHz were obtained, respectively. This work suggests that InGaAs MOSFETs with InGaP interfacial layer on GaAs can be used in single power supply RF applications.

By focusing on the Al/Al 2 O 3 /InP capacitor structure, impacts on coordination number modification using sulfur and nitride passivations against traps and charge formation are investigated. Improved electrical characteristics with low leakage current density, hysteresis, interface trap density and capacitance frequency dispersion are demonstrated after sulfur or nitride interface passivations. It is clarified that sulfur interface passivation is more effective in reducing the interface traps while nitride interface passivation shows stronger impact in suppressing the generation of bulk and border traps and the negative interface charges. A possible model based on coordination number is proposed to explain the mechanism of the different trap and charge behaviors for sulfur and nitride interface passivations.

PBTI stress induced interface trap density in buried InGaAs channel n-MOSFETs with InGaP barrier layer and AI 2 O 3 dielectric is investigated. DC I d -V g measurements show both degradations of positive ΔV g and sub-threshold swing (S) in the sub-threshold region, also show degradation of positive ΔV g in the on-current region. The I d -V g degradation is mainly contributed by generation of acceptor-like near interface traps under stress.

PurposeThe rapid transition from a command to market‐based economy in China has required the development of a food safety system for aquatic products where one did not previously exist. The pace of change has meant that food safety systems have struggled to keep up. In 2007 food safety incidents damaged the reputation of aquatic products in export markets. The Chinese Government has moved quickly to strengthen the safety regime for aquatic products. The purpose of this paper is to assess these initiatives in the context of their potential to regain international acceptance of Chinese aquatic products.Design/methodology/approachA regulatory assessment approach is used.FindingsThe findings are that increased government oversight alone is not likely to lead to a fully effective food safety system for aquatic products. The development of private sector‐based incentives to encourage investment in food safety is an essential co‐requisite to increased government oversight if China's access to international markets is to be assured.Originality/valueThe value of this study lies in the light it sheds on the efforts of a major player in the international market for aquatic products to improve the efficacy of its food safety system. China's regulatory regimes are often opaque, limiting the ability of those wishing to assess the advisability of importing food products from China.

This paper experimentally analyzes the critical current degradation and AC (alternating current) losses of second-generation (2G) high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape during the impregnation process. Two impregnation materials were utilized: Gallium-Indium-Tin (GaInSn), and an epoxy resin, Araldite. The critical current of the impregnation materials was measured after different thermal cycles and compared with the tape with no impregnation process. The experimental results show that the critical current of Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBCO) short samples varies between differently impregnated materials. The resin, Araldite, degraded the critical current; however, the GaInSn showed no degradation. Two degradation patterns with Araldite were identified due to the impregnation process, and the corresponding causes were analyzed. We further measured the AC losses of tapes impregnated with liquid metal at different frequencies, up to 600 Hz. Based on the experimental results, GaInSn liquid metal should be the most suitable impregnation material in terms of critical current degradation.

In 2007 there were a number of product safety incidents with Chinese exports that garnered mediattention worldwide. There were widespread calls for tightening of regulatory barriers or outright bans onimports of Chinese goods. Consumer confidence in Chinese goods suffered a serious decline and exportsfell. The number of Chinese products with safety problems was small. However, Chinese firms where no afety problems had been discovered suffered reductions in export sales collateral damage. This market failure is investigated and the results suggest that the efficient solution to correcting it requires cooperation etween the Chinese government and importing country governments

One of the proteins encoded by the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), the VP1 protein, a capsid protein, plays an important role in integrin receptor attachment and humoral immunity-mediated host responses. The integrin receptor recognition motif and an important antigenic epitope exist within the G-H loop, which is comprised of amino acids 134-160 of the VP1 protein. FMDV strain, Asia1/HN/CHA/06, isolated from a pig, was passaged four times in suckling mice and sequenced. Sequencing analyses showed that there was a mutation of the integrin receptor recognition motif Arg-Gly-Asp/Arg-Asp-Asp (RGD/RDD, VP1 143-145) and a VP1 154 serine/Asp (VP1 S154D) mutation in the G-H loop of the VP1 protein. The influence of the RGD/RDD mutation on Asia1 FMDV disease phenotype has been previously studied. In this study, to determine the influence of the VP1 S154D mutation on FMDV Asia1 replication and pathogenicity, two recombinant FMDVs with different residues only at the VP1 154 site were rescued by reverse genetics techniques and their infectious potential in host cells and pathogenicity in pigs were compared. Our data indicates that the VP1 S154D mutation increases the replication level of FMDV Asia1/HN/CHA/06 in BHK-21, IB-RS-2, and PK-15 cells and enhances pathogenicity in pigs. Through the transient transfection-infection assay to compare integrin receptor usage of two recombinant viruses, the result shows that the VP1 S154D mutation markedly increases the ability of type Asia1 FMDV to use the integrin receptors αυβ6 and αυβ8 from pig. This study identifies a key research target for illuminating the role of residues located at G-H loop in FMDV pathogenicity.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a frequently occurring disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is caused by infection with the foot-and-mouth virus (FMDV). FMDV circumvents the type-I IFN response by expressing proteins that antagonize cellular innate immunity, such as leader protease and 3C protease. We identified the FMDV structural protein VP3 as a negative regulator of the virus-triggered IFN-β signaling pathway. Expression of FMDV VP3 inhibited the Sendai virus-triggered activation of IFN regulatory factor-3 and the expression of retinoic acid-inducible gene-I/melanoma differentiation-associated protein-5. Transient transfection and coimmunoprecipitation confirmed that the structural protein VP3 interacts with virus-induced signaling adapter (VISA), which is dependent on the C-terminal aa 111-220 of VP3. In addition, we found that FMDV VP3 inhibits the expression of VISA by disrupting its mRNA. Taken together, our findings reveal a novel strategy used by the structural VP3 protein of FMDV to evade host innate immunity.-Li, D., Yang, W., Yang, F., Liu, H., Zhu, Z., Lian, K., Lei, C., Li, S., Liu, X., Zheng, H., Shu, H. The VP3 structural protein of foot-and-mouth disease virus inhibits the IFN-β signaling pathway.