Search

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted, aiming to establish a scientifically grounded understanding of trichloroethylene (TCE)-induced hepatotoxicity. Relevant studies published prior to February 29, 2024 were meticulously searched. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was employed to assess the correlation between the control group and the TCE exposure group, while heterogeneity was quantified using the I2 index. After a thorough screening and exclusion process, a total of 57 articles met the eligibility criteria. Important parameters pertaining to liver health, such as ALT, AST, TNF-α, IL-1β, and others, were analyzed, resulting in the identification of 40 parameters related to liver injury. The results revealed that GLB, ALP, CYP2E1, GR, IL-6 (mRNA), and TGF-β (mRNA) did not exhibit statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). However, high heterogeneity was observed in indicators other than F4/80, EGR1 (mRNA), and MDA-protein adducts (P 50%). Notably, TCE exposure significantly increased the activity of ALT, AST, LDH, as well as the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, TNFR1, IL-6, P65, P-P65, F4/80, IFN-γ, iNOS, C3a, TNF-α (mRNA), IL-1β (mRNA), IL-6R (mRNA), GP130 (mRNA), EGR1 (mRNA), CCL2 (mRNA), CCL5 (mRNA), iNOS (mRNA), liver coefficient, MDA, anti-dsDNA, MDA protein adduct, anti-MDA protein adduct antibody, and ANA. Conversely, TCE exposure decreased the activities of CAT, GPx, SOD, as well as the expression levels of Nrf2, TP, ALB, and GSH. Additionally, this study provided a comprehensive review of the two mechanisms underlying liver injury following TCE exposure. In conclusion, our findings furnish compelling evidence that TCE exposure induces liver injury, as manifested by alterations in various physiological indicators, including cytokines and oxidative stress-related markers, among others.

Lane-changing prewarning is an active management measure used to mitigate the impact of incidents on expressways. This measure affects the operational efficiency and safety of traffic flow upstream of the incident location. To evaluate the effectiveness of this measure in mitigating incident-induced congestion and enhancing traffic safety, it is essential to model and simulate traffic flow on expressways, followed by analyzing the simulation results. In this study, we use the lane-changing selection cell transmission model (ls-CTM) to investigate the impact of setting lane-changing prewarning information on expressway traffic flow. By enhancing the composition of flow within the diverging cell in CTM, traffic can determine its downstream direction based on lane-changing probability rather than the path. A case study was conducted to investigate the impact of prewarning distances of 50, 100, and 150 m on road operational efficiency and traffic safety under different traffic volumes. The effectiveness and applicability of three measures to improve traffic safety were also summarized. The research results can provide more rigorous and effective decision-making support for expressway traffic management and control.

The aim of this study was to explore the similarities and differences of volatile organic pollutants (VOCs) in cooking fumes (COF) of residential buildings in different regions of China, as well as to evaluate their potential health risks. COF condensates were collected from 10 representative cities in China and analyzed by a GC–MS method. Their effects on α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase (AchE), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were then detected to evaluate potential health risks. A total of 174 kinds of VOCs, including aldehydes, esters, hydrocarbons, alcohols, and carboxylic acid, were identified. There were 59 identical compounds in the northern and southern regions, and 56 common compounds in spicy and non-spicy regions. Health risk assessment results showed that COF condensate could inhibit the activity of α-glucosidase to varying degrees (61.73–129.25%), suggesting that it had a potential risk of causing hypoglycemia. Daily and 3 and 6 month intakes of COF in minors, adults, and the elderly had both activated and inhibited effects on AchE. The activated effect in the southern and spicy areas was higher than that in northern and non-spicy areas, revealing that different regions and dietary habits had different effects on the risk of neurological diseases caused by changes in AchE activity. For minors, adults, and the elderly, COF had different degrees of activation of LDH at different exposure times and regions. Activation in the northern and non-spicy areas was higher than that in southern and spicy areas, suggesting that the health risks caused by changes in LDH activity levels were significantly increased.

An optimization model for the optical imaging system was established in this paper. It combined the modern design of experiments (DOE) method known as Latin hypercube sampling (LHS), Kriging surrogate model training, and the multi-objective optimization algorithm NSGA-III into the optimization of a triplet optical system. Compared with the methods that rely mainly on optical system simulation, this surrogate model-based multi-objective optimization method can achieve a high-accuracy result with significantly improved optimization efficiency. Using this model, case studies were carried out for two-objective optimizations of a Cooke triplet optical system. The results showed that the weighted geometric spot diagram and the maximum field curvature were reduced 5.32% and 11.59%, respectively, in the first case. In the second case, where the initial parameters were already optimized by Code-V, this model further reduced the weighted geometric spot diagram and the maximum field curvature by another 3.53% and 4.33%, respectively. The imaging quality in both cases was considerably improved compared with the initial design, indicating that the model is suitable for the optimal design of an optical system.

Blowup/Quenching time optimal control problems for controlled autonomous ordinary differential equations are considered. The main results are maximum principles for these time optimal control problems, including the transversality conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study both minimal and maximal blowup time controls for some ordinary differential equations. The existence and Pontryagin's maximum principle for these problems are derived. As a key preliminary to prove our main results, due to certain monotonicity of the controlled systems, "the initial period optimality" for an optimal triplet is built up. This property reduces our blowup time optimal control problems (where the target set is outside of the state space) to the classical ones (where the target sets are in state spaces). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharp constants for an inequality of Poincaré type are studied. The problem is solved by using optimal control theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time optimal control problems for some non-smooth systems in general form are considered. The non-smoothness is caused by singularity. It is proved that Pontryagin's maximum principle holds for at least one optimal relaxed control. Thus, Pontryagin's maximum principle holds when the optimal classical control is a unique optimal relaxed control. By constructing an auxiliary controlled system which admits the original optimal classical control as its unique optimal relaxed control, one get a chance to get Pontryagin's maximum principle for the original optimal classical control. Existence results are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]