Search

Accurate reconstruction of radiation field and path planning are very important for the safety of operators in the process of dismantling nuclear facilities. Based on radial basis function (RBF) interpolation algorithm, this paper discussed the application of inverse multiquadric radial basis Function (IMRBF) interpolation method to the reconstruction of gamma radiation field, and proved the feasibility of reconstructing a radiation field with multiple γ sources. The average relative errors of IMRBF interpolation results were 4.28% and 8.76%, respectively, for the experimental scenarios with single and double gamma sources. After comparing the consistency between the simulated scene and the experimental scene, IMRBF method and Cubic Spline method were respectively used to reconstruct the gamma radiation field by Geant4 simulation data. The results showed that the interpolation accuracy of IMRBF method was superior to that of Cubic Spline method. Further, more RBF interpolation algorithms were used to reconstruct the multi-γ source radiation field, and then the Probabilistic Roadmap (PRM) algorithm was used to optimize the human walking path in the radiation field reconstructed by different interpolation methods. The optimal paths in radiation fields generated by multiple interpolation methods were compared. The results herein contribute to a comprehensive understanding of RBF interpolation methods in reconstructing γ radiation fields and their application in optimizing paths in radiation environments. The insights may provide valuable information for decision-making in radiation protection during the decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Aberrant expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) has been reported in pituitary adenomas. However, the role of Cdk5 in the tumorigenesis remains unclear. We show that prenatal p25-activated Cdk5 phosphorylates minichromosome maintenance protein 2 (Mcm2), enhancing minichromosome maintenance (MCM) family proteins and driving intermediate lobe-located melanotrope-originated pituitary tumorigenesis. In a mouse model with CaMKII promoter-driven transgenic induction of p25, we observed intermediate lobe-originated pituitary adenoma producing non-functional proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides under persistent p25 overexpression. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed Mcm2 may play an important role during tumor progression. Subsequently, Mcm2 was identified as a potential phosphorylated substrate of Cdk5, mediating the tumorous proliferation of melanotrope cells. Silencing Cdk5 or Mcm2 suppressed cell proliferation and colony formation in the 293T cell lines. Therefore, our findings provide a new mouse model of intermediate lobe-originated pituitary adenoma induced by p25/Cdk5 and unveil a previously unappreciated role of Cdk5 and Mcm2 in pituitary adenoma tumorigenesis.

Invasive alien plants have received increasing attention due to their worldwide environmental impacts, ecological concerns, and significant economic consequences. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is an important global biodiversity hotspot hosting rich biodiversity and serving as a crucial component of the southwest ecological security barrier, with global conservation value. However, in recent years, invasive plants have been detrimental to the conservation of biodiversity and native ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Here, 197 invasive plant species were recognized from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, encompassing 133 genera across 47 families. We used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) method to predict the potential distribution of invasive alien plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Furthermore, potential geographic distribution regions suitable for 43 invasive alien plant species were found to be primarily concentrated in central and eastern Qinghai, southern and eastern Tibet, southwest Xinjiang, and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau part of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu in China. Notably, the current potential distribution area for all 43 invasive alien plant species accounts for 29.92 % of the total area, with an increase of 32.72–59.39 % projected by 2050. Moreover, risk screening results confirm the high risk of invasion of most alien plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This study provides a foundation for assessing the risks associated with introducing and managing invasive alien plants in the region. It also offers scientific support for conserving the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau’s unique biodiversity, ecological originality, and sustainable development during economic growth.

GPCR-G protein signaling from endosomes plays a crucial role in various physiological and pathological processes. However, the mechanism by which endosomal G protein signaling is terminated remains largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanisms involved in terminating the signaling of Gα subunits from endosomes. Through structural analysis and cell-based assays, we have discovered that SNX25, a protein that targets endosomes via its PXA or PXC domain, interacts with regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins (including RGS2, RGS4, RGS8, and RGS17) in a redox-regulated manner. The interaction between SNX25 and these RGS proteins enhances their GTPase-accelerating activity towards Gαi/q and their ability to bind GDP-bound (inactive form) Gαi/q. As a result, SNX25 recruits these RGS proteins to endosomes, leading to the termination of endosomal Gαi/q signaling. Furthermore, we have found that the SNX25/RGS complex also exerts a negative regulatory effect on Gαi/q signaling from the plasma membrane. This is achieved by recruiting Gαi/q to endosomes and preventing its activation on the plasma membrane. Our findings shed light on the previously unknown role of redox-modulated SNX25 in inhibiting Gαi/q signaling, thereby uncovering a novel mechanism for terminating Gαi/q signaling from endosomes. Importantly, this study expands our understanding of the regulation of GPCR-Gαi/q signaling beyond the plasma membrane.

The inversion of radiation field distribution is of great significance in the decommissioning sites of nuclear facilities. However, the radiation fields often contain multiple mixtures of radionuclides, making the inversion extremely difficult and posing a huge challenge. Many radiation field reconstruction methods, such as Kriging algorithm and neural network, can not solve this problem perfectly. To address this issue, this paper proposes an optimized inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation algorithm for reconstructing the gamma radiation field. The algorithm corrects the difference between the experimental and simulated scenarios, and the data is preprocessed with normalization to improve accuracy. The experiment involves setting up gamma radiation fields of three Co-60 radioactive sources and verifying them by using the optimized IDW algorithm. The results show that the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the reconstruction result obtained by using the optimized IDW algorithm is 16.0%, which is significantly better than the results obtained by using the Kriging method. Importantly, the optimized IDW algorithm is suitable for radiation scenarios with multiple radioactive sources, providing an effective method for obtaining radiation field distribution in nuclear facility decommissioning engineering.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a widespread health issue in many countries, which has an extremely negative impact on the health of children and adolescents in particular. In the context of depression and metabolic disorders, dyslipidemia and metabolism-related problems become more prominent comorbidities. However, they continue to be the main barrier to the successful recovery of the clinical progress. In this study we investigated the rate of dyslipidemia, additional risk factors among Chinese children and adolescents with MDD, and association of the suicidal behavior with lipid levels. Methods: The study took 756 people from the Third People's Hospital of Fuyang between January 2020 and December 2021, aged between 8 and 18, with major depressive disorders diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). We determined the FBG (fasting blood glucose) and lipid parameters in all subjects and also investigated the history of suicidal ideation, the cases of attempted suicide, and the scores of depressive symptoms. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered and analyzed using the SPSS-23.0 version. Results: The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, high LDL-C, and low HDL-C were 5.42 % (41/756), 10.58 % (80/756), 3.84 % (29/756) and 5.42 % (41/756) respectively. For hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, they were positive associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, and the positive correlation is shown between low HDL-C levels and suicide attempts. Nevertheless, non-ideation and inversely suicidal attempts were not discovered among high-LDL-C subjects. Logistic analysis showed that high levels of FBG (OR = 2.86, 95 % CI: 1.31–6.25, P = 0.008) and worse LDL-C (OR = 357.82, 95 % CI: 66.16–1935.10, P

It is of great significance to prepare liners with excellent inhibition of energetic plasticizer migration and gas barrier properties. Here, we have successfully prepared magnetic iron oxide decorated reduced-graphene-oxide nanosheets (MRGO) by using ultrasound-assisted method. The obtained MRGO nanosheet-fillers were filled into hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) which was exposed to a magnetic field (200 mT) to achieve ordered orientation of MRGO in the HTPB matrix (Ordered MRGO/HTPB). The laser confocal microscopy demonstrates that MRGO exhibit ordered orientation structure in HTPB matrix with good dispersion, which renders the HTPB composite liners exhibiting high gas and plasticizer barrier capability, with a reduction of 18.9 % in water vapor permeability and a decrease of 14.1 % in dibutyl phthalate (DBP) migration equilibrium concentration as compared with those of random MRGO embedded HTPB composite liners (Random MRGO/HTPB). Moreover, a theoretical model accounting for such enhanced gas/plasticizer barrier performance of HTPB due to the implantation of order aligned MRGO was established, which shows that the effective diffusion pathways of plasticizer/gas for liner penetration would be significantly enhanced when the MRGO nanosheets are oriented within the HTPB matrix. This work provides an effective and facile strategy toward the design and development of composite liners with high plasticizer/gas barrier performance for industrial applications.

It is vital that the development of low carbon buildings to achieve carbon neutrality in China. Nonetheless, the actual post-commissioning performance of buildings has gained little attention. A post-occupancy evaluation of low-carbon buildings was conducted, covering analysis of indoor environmental indicators and carbon reduction. The main objective of the study was to assess the post-occupancy performance of low-carbon buildings and to guide their development towards achieving the zero-carbon goal. Specifically, indoor environmental operating parameters and carbon reduction were quantified. The outcomes demonstrated that indoor environmental parameters were influenced by factors, such as room location, room orientation, the behavior of office workers, and the number of office workers. Nevertheless, in terms of long-term trends, the indoor temperature and relative humidity indicators were better than the requirements of the relevant standards. Meanwhile, there is an excellent comfort level in low-carbon buildings, thermal sensations almost constantly behave as neutral. The average CO2 concentration in all rooms was always less than 756 ppm throughout the year, which was 24.4% lower than the standard value. Additionally, the electricity consumption of the actual operation phase of the low-carbon office building was 28.76 kWh/(m2⋅a), the electricity saving rate was 41.28% compared to the electricity consumption of the reference building. The emission reduction of CO2, SO2 and dust were 4.66 kg/m2, 0.04 kg/m2, and 0.02 kg/m2, respectively. Overall, this paper can provide valuable information for the development of zero-carbon buildings.

Developing a quantitative hazard assessment model for spontaneous coal gangue combustion is imperative to ensuring the safety of coal mining operations. In this study, eight types of coal gangue from different coalfields were used to determine the controlling factors for spontaneous combustion. A variety of physical and chemical characterization methods were employed to investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of the samples. Based on the experimental results, six key parameters were identified, namely the aliphatic C–H components, pyrite sulfur content, physical oxygen absorption capacity, ash content, ignition point temperature, and activation energy for thermal decomposition. The results show that the spontaneous combustion hazard of coal gangue is positively correlated with the first three of these and is negatively correlated with the rest. Using the entropy-weight method combined with the analytic hierarchy process, appropriate weighting factors for each parameter were obtained and used to establish a quantitative assessment model for the spontaneous combustion hazard of coal gangue. This model is expected to enhance the current industrial best practices for the prevention and control of spontaneous coal gangue combustion.

In this study, a high-molecular-weight Pueraria lobata polysaccharide (PLP) with a molecular weight of 273.54 kDa was degraded by ultrasound, and the ultrasonic degradation kinetics, structural characteristics and hepatoprotective activity of ultrasonic degraded PLP fractions (PLPs) were evaluated. The results showed that the ultrasonic treatment significantly reduced the Mw and particle size of PLP, and the kinetic equation of ultrasonic degradation of PLP followed to the midpoint fracture model (the fist-order model). The monosaccharide composition analysis, FT-IR, triple helix structure and XRD analysis all indicated that the ultrasound degradation did not destroy the primary structure of PLP, but the thermal stability of degraded fractions improved. Additionally, the scanning electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that the surface morphology of PLP was altered from smooth, flat, compact large flaky structure to a sparse rod-like structure with sparse crosslinking (PLP-7). The degraded PLP fractions (0.5 mg/mL) with lower Mw exhibited better antioxidant activities and protective effects against palmitic acid-induced hepatic lipotoxicity, which may be due to the increased exposure of active groups such as hydroxyl groups of PLP after ultrasound. Further investigation showed that PLPs not only increased Nrf2 phosphorylation and its nuclear translocation, thereby activating Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway, but also enhanced HO-1, NQO-1, γ-GCL gene expressions and promoted superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, which protected hepatocytes against PA-induced oxidative stress and lipotoxicity. Overall, our research might provide an in-depth insight into P. Lobata polysaccharide in ameliorating lipid metabolic disorders, and the results revealed that ultrasonic irradiation could be a promising degradation method to produce value-added polysaccharide for use in functional food.

Herbal organic compounds (HOCs) are bioactive natural products from medicinal plants and some traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Recently, ingestion of a few HOCs with low bioavailability has been associated with alterations in gut microbiota, but the extent of this phenomenon remains unclear. Here, we systematically screened 481 HOCs against 47 representative gut bacterial strains in vitro and found that almost one-third of the HOCs exhibited unique anticommensal activity. Quinones showed a potent anticommensal activity, while saturated fatty acids exhibited stronger inhibition of the Lactobacillus genus. Flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, terpenoids, triterpenoids, alkaloids and phenols displayed weaker anticommensal activity, but steroids, saccharides and glycosides had hardly any effect on strain growth. Notably, S-configuration HOCs demonstrated stronger anticommensal activity than R-configuration HOCs. The strict screening conditions ensured high accuracy (95%) through benchmarking validation. Additionally, the effects of HOCs on human fecal microbiota profiling were positively correlated with their anticommensal activity against bacterial strains. Molecular and chemical features such as AATS3i and XLogP3 were correlated with the anticommensal activity of the HOCs in the random forest classifier. Finally, we validated that curcumin, a polyhydric phenol with anticommensal activity, improved insulin resistance in HFD mice by modulating the composition and metabolic function of gut microbiota. Our results systematically mapped the profile of HOCs directly affecting human gut bacterial strains, offering a resource for future research on HOC-microbiota interaction, and broadening our understanding of natural product utilization through gut microbiota modulation.

Contemporary fire dynamics is one of the most complex and least understood land surface phenomena. Global fire controls related to climate, vegetation, and anthropogenic activity are usually intertwined, and difficult to disentangle in a quantitative way. Here, we leveraged an ensemble of five machine learning (ML) models and multiple satellite-based observations to conduct global fire modeling for three fire metrics (burned area, fire number, and fire size), and quantified driving mechanisms underlying annual fire changes in a spatially resolved manner for the period 2003–2019. Ensemble learning is a meta-approach that combines multiple ML predictions to improve accuracy, robustness, and generalization performance. We found that the optimized ensemble ML well reproduced annual dynamics of global burned area (R2 = 0.90, P

This paper develops a model that only requires two sets of small-size rock specimens with the ratio of the structural geometry parameter maximum to minimum ae,max:ae,min ≥ 3:1 to determine the rock fracture and strength parameters without size effect and predict the actual structural performance of rock. Regardless of three-point-bending, four-point-bending, or a combination of the above two specimen types, fracture toughness KIC and tensile strength ft of rock were determined using only two sets of specimens with ae,max:ae,min ≥ 3:1. The values KIC and ft were consistent with those determined using multiple sets of specimens. The full structural failure curve constructed by two sets of small-size specimens with ae,max:ae,min ≥ 3:1 can accurately predict large-size specimens fracture failure, and ±10% upper and lower limits of the curve can encompass the test results of large-size specimens. The peak load prediction curve was constructed by two sets of specimens with ae,max:ae,min ≥ 3:1, and ±15% upper and lower limits of the peak load prediction curve can cover the small-size specimen tests data. The model and method proposed in this paper require only two sets of small-size specimens, and their selection is unaffected by the specimen type, geometry, and initial crack length.

PFOA-functionalized Al Metastable Intermolecular Composites (MICs) refer to the system using aluminum nanoparticles as fuel and PFOA as oxidant. Aluminum is the most widely used metal fuel in energetic materials. Al NPs are widely used because they are relatively cheap, easily accessible, nontoxic, excellent in thermodynamic performance. Fluorine has higher density and stronger oxidation capacity than oxygen element. PFOA has a high fluorine content (68.8%). PFOA-functionalized Al MICs mixed the high calorific value of aluminum and oxidizing fluorine in nano-sized. In this paper, PFOA-functionalized Al MICs with different PIR interface fuel-oxidizer ratios were prepared by electrostatic spray. The microstructure of the MICs was characterized by TEM. PFOA is uniformly coated on the Al NPs. The composition of MIC system was analyzed by FTIR and XRD. The combustion performance of MICs was tested by laser ignition, and the decomposition mechanism of PFOA-functionalized Al MICs was studied by DSC-TG. Results show that the exothermic process and activation energy of MICs are affected by the Preignition reactions (PIR) interface fuel-oxidizer ratios. The ignition and combustion processes of MICs and pressurization rate increase with the increase of oxidizer, and the burning rate decreases with the increase of oxidizer.

The occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) derivatives in the environment is of growing concern because they exhibit higher toxicity than their parent PAHs. This study evaluated the large-scale occurrence and spatiotemporal distribution of 16 PAHs and 14 oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) in urban agricultural soils from seven districts of Guangzhou City, China. Linear correlation analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between PAH and OPAH occurrence and a series of parameters. The compositional analysis, principal component analysis, diagnostic ratios, and principal component analysis coupled with a multiple linear regression model were used to identify the sources of PAHs and OPAHs in the soils. The average concentrations of ΣPAHs and ΣOPAHs (59.6 ± 31.1–213 ± 115.5 μg/kg) during the flood season were significantly higher than those during the dry season (42.1 ± 13.3–157.2 ± 98.2 μg/kg), which were due to relatively strong wet deposition during the flood season and weak secondary reactions during the dry season. Linear correlation analysis showed that soil properties, industrial activities, and agricultural activities (r = 0.27–0.96, p

It is a central challenge for energy self-supplied underwater vehicles converting the huge ocean thermal energy to electrical energy effectively. However, the energy storage efficiency of ocean thermal energy storage (OTES) unit limits the conversion efficiency. Fins are proposed for OTES unit to improve energy storage efficiency in this paper. Firstly, this paper develops a non-stationary model of solidification heat transfer for OTES unit and uses FLUENT to accomplish its numerical analysis. Then, the influence of radial fin and fractal fin on the solidification behavior of phase change material (PCM) are compared. Finally, several fractal fins with different fractal levels, bifurcation angles and ambient temperature are analyzed for the evolution of the liquid phase rate and temperature distribution of PCM. The results show that fractal fins can reduce the solidification time of PCM by 34.46% compared with radial fins. Furthermore, the solidification rate of PCM can be improved by increasing the number of fractal levels and choosing a proper bifurcation angle. However, the solidification behavior of PCM changes slightly when the fractal level increases to 3. The bifurcation angle of 90° is appropriate for practical applications. Furthermore, keeping the temperature difference above 10K can achieve faster solidification.

To alleviate the pressure of energy utilization of buildings, more attention was focused on the utilization of GWSHP (groundwater source heat pump) systems. However, there have been many debates on feasibility. This paper is to study the suitability and feasibility of GWSHP systems in different climate zones. A simulation model of a GWSHP system is established based on TRNSYS software in the severe cold climate zones A and B, cold climate zones, hot summer and cold winter climate zones, and the hot summer and warm winter climate zones. Simultaneously, the reliability and energy-saving benefits of GWSHP systems in typical residential buildings situated in different climate zones are deeply analyzed. Results reveal that the operating performance of GWSHP systems is considered as the best in the climate zones that need both heating and cooling loads for residential buildings. In contrast, the energy-saving benefits of the GWSHP system in typical residential buildings are deemed to be higher in the cold climate zones and severe cold climate zones. Overall, compared with the ASHP, the economy of the system is generally better based on economic analysis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of wooden breast myopathy on water-holding, rheological, and gelling properties of chicken broiler breast batter. As to water-holding capacity, wooden breast myopathy significantly increased cooking loss and thawing loss of meat batter compared with that of a normal sample (P

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used antitumor drug that causes severe cardiotoxicity in patients; no effective strategy yet exists to address this problem. We previously reported that 8-formylophiopogonanone B (8-FOB), a natural isoflavone in Ophiopogon japonicas, antagonizes paraquat-induced hepatotoxicity. Here, we explored the mechanisms underlying DOX-induced cardiotoxicity as well as whether 8-FOB can alleviate DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Acute cardiotoxicity was established by injecting C57BL/6J mice with a single dose of DOX (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). To elucidate the mechanisms underlying DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, differentially expressed genes between hearts from DOX-treated and control mice were identified from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database via GEO2R. Using the Cytoscape software plugin cytoHubba, five hub genes associated with DOX-induced cardiotoxicity were identified: CD68, PTEN, SERPINE1, AIF1, and HMOX1. However, of these, only HMOX1 protein expression levels were significantly increased after DOX treatment. We also confirmed that HMOX1-dependent myocardial inflammation and fibrosis were closely associated with DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. More importantly, 8-FOB protected against DOX-cardiotoxicity by ameliorating cardiac injury and dysfunction, reducing cardiac fibrosis and inflammatory cytokine release, and inhibiting HMOX1 expression. In conclusion, our results suggest that inhibition of HMOX1-dependent myocardial inflammatory insults and fibrosis is essential for 8-FOB to ameliorate DOX-caused cardiotoxicity.

Using the extended STIRPAT model, this research examines the influence of various factors on US carbon emission from 1960 to 2019, including nuclear and alternative energy of total, fossil energy of total, GDP per capita, total population, urban population of total and merchandise trade of GDP. Ridge regression was used to perform the study. The research results show the significant of all factors on carbon emission. The estimated elastic coefficients reveal the most important factor influencing carbon emission is merchandise trade of GDP. GDP per capita has negative impact on carbon emission. Nuclear and alternative energy of total, urban population of total are also prominent influencing factors, while the other factors such as total population and fossil energy of total have less significant impact on carbon emission in US. These findings of this research will be of great significance for US to control its carbon emission in the future and to mitigate the global warming to some extent.

The leaves of Metapanax delavayi (Araliaceae) have been consumed as a common wild vegetable and herbal tea in China. In this study, we evaluated the effect of M. delavayi leaves aqueous extract (MD-T) and its fractions (MD-W and MD-E) on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in testosterone propionate (TP) induced rat model based on folk applications. The results showed that MD-T and MD-E could significantly reduce the prostate weight, prostate index, and serum level of prostate acid phosphatase (PAP) in BPH rats and improve the tissue morphology of the prostate. They mainly played roles in regulating the sex hormone level, reducing the levels of inflammatory factors and improving the antioxidant levels of prostate tissue. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis showed that the main components of MD-E were saponins and sesquiterpenes, and the content of liangwanoside II was the highest. Our findings suggested that MD-T and its fraction MD-E showed an anti-BPH effect.

ABSTRACT: The fuel-air cloud resulting from an accidental discharge event is normally irregular in shape and varying in concentration. Performance of dispersion simulations using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based tool FLACS can get an uneven and irregular cloud. For the performance of gas explosion study with FLACS, the equivalent stoichiometric fuel-air cloud concept is widely applied to get a representative distribution of explosion loads. The Q9 cloud model that is employed in FLACS is an equivalent fuel-air cloud representation, in which the laminar burning velocity with first order SL and volume expansion ratio are taken into consideration. However, during an explosion in congested areas, the main part of the combustion involves turbulent flame propagation. Hence, to give a more reasonable equivalent fuel-air size, the turbulent burning velocity must be taken into consideration. The paper presents a new equivalent cloud method using the turbulent burning velocity, which is described as a function of SL, deduced from the TNO multi-energy method. Keywords: Explosion, Equivalent approach, Homogenous stoichiometric fuel-air cloud, TNO multi-energy method