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To improve the seismic performance of bridges, this study develops a novel superelastic conical friction pendulum isolator (SCFPI) by incorporating an improved conical friction pendulum isolator (CFPI) with shape memory alloy (SMA). The flat sliding function designed for the improved conical friction pendulum isolator is to enhance the adaptability under service loadings. The analytical model of the novel SCFPI is derived and the numerical model is developed within the OpenSees platform to investigate the hysteretic behavior under cyclic loadings. A cost-effective design method is proposed to design the SCFPI system for example bridges. The response mitigation efficacy of the novel SCFPI system is investigated using the optimum design parameters under near-fault ground motions. Several case studies are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel SCFPI system and cost-effective design method. Results indicate that the cost-effective design method is particularly effective for parameter optimization of the novel SCFPI, which achieves effective mitigation for the displacement responses of the isolator and superstructure and also effectively controls the seismic force increment in piers. Case studies indicate the reliable re-centering capacity and mitigation efficacy of the SCFPI system for bridges under near-fault ground motions. The findings of this study contribute to upgrading structural resilience and promoting seismic applications as a reliable technical guidance.

The hysteretic damping tuned mass damper (HD-TMD) is composed of a spring element, a hysteretic damping (HD) element, and a mass. The HD force is proportional to the displacement of the tuned mass damper (TMD). Recently, the application of HD-TMD has emerged, but its optimal design is still lacking. To fill this academic gap, numerical solutions for optimal parameters of HD-TMD subjected to white-noise excitation were obtained based on the H2 optimization criterion. Performance balance optimization with a weighting factor was carried out to improve the response of a structure with the HD-TMD system. A set of earthquake records and harmonic excitations were conducted to prove the effectiveness of the optimal numerical solutions and the performance balance design. It was found that the performance of the HD-TMD is slightly better than that of the traditional optimized TMD. As a real TMD application of HD-TMD, the variable friction pendulum TMD (VFP-TMD) was selected to experience earthquakes with the proposed optimal methods. Results showed that the optimal solutions provided the best performance but raised the problem of difficulty in maintaining linearity with a large displacement. Nevertheless, the performance balance design helped reduce this defect and provided impressive seismic mitigation capacity. Compared with the optimal numerical solution results, the performance balance design demonstrated 2.847% of loss in the maximum structural displacement reduction rate and 3.709% of loss in the root mean square reduction rate during the earthquake-excited period, respectively.

Gadolinium-induced acute pancreatitis is a rare phenomenon associated with the administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents. Only five cases of gadolinium-induced acute pancreatitis have been reported worldwide in patients with native pancreas and none with a pancreatic graft. We present a 32-year-old woman with prior history of simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant who presented with generalized abdominal pain associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome requiring admission to the intensive care unit. This occurred within 48 hours after having a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with gadolinium for investigation of subacute left optic atrophy. She was noted to have a marked rise in serum lipase, and the computed tomography findings were consistent with acute graft pancreatitis. Other causes of pancreatitis were ruled out, and she was managed conservatively with aggressive hydration, bowel rest, and analgesia with good recovery. This is the first reported case of gadolinium-induced acute graft pancreatitis occurring in a simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipient. Clinicians should consider this rare differential diagnosis as a cause of graft pancreatitis in patients who have received gadolinium-based contrast agents.

Ammonium (NH4+) plays key roles in plant growth, development, fruit quality, and yield. In plants, NH4+ uptake and transport are facilitated by NH4+ transporters (AMT). However, molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of type-II AMT (AMT2) transporters in fruit trees are still unclear, especially in peach. In this study, we cloned and characterized an AMT2 family gene from peach, PpeAMT3;4, and determined its function in yeast mutant. Expression analysis showed that PpeAMT3;4 was majorly expressed in peach roots and significantly decreased by NH4+ excess but had no response to NH4+ deficiency. Functional determination and 15nitrogen-labeled NH4+ uptake assay in yeast cells implied that PpeAMT3;4 was a typical high-affinity transporter, with a K m value of 86.3 μM, that can uptake external NH4+ in yeast cells. This study provides gene resources to uncover the biological function of AMT2 transporters and reveals molecular basis for NH4+ uptake and nitrogen (N) nutrition mechanisms in fruit trees.

A novel cost-effective isolator reinforced by engineering plastics has been designed and manufactured for seismic protection for low-rise buildings in less developed areas. The reinforcement is flexible in tension, which is similar to fiber-reinforced isolators. However, available solutions for fiber-reinforced isolators are not applicable, because the Poisson effect of engineering plastics cannot be neglected, which is done for fiber reinforcement. In this paper, analytical solutions for compression and bending stiffness for rectangular isolators reinforced by engineering plastics are proposed, with both the Poisson effect of the reinforcement and the effect of rubber compressibility taken into consideration. Then, the simplified solutions are also derived, which can greatly improve calculation efficiency. To validate the solutions, finite element analysis is conducted on a set of isolators with different reinforcement stiffnesses. The results show the superiority of the proposed solutions to the previous solutions for fiber-reinforced isolators. A series of experimental tests of the isolators are also carried out to verify the solutions. Both the analytical and the simplified solutions match well with the experimental results.

This paper presents mega-sub isolation system. Shaking table test of the mega-sub isolation system is carried out in this paper. Three test models have been developed. One is called aseismic model, in which all the substructures are fixedly connected with the megastructures. The second one is known as isolated model, where the substructures are connected with the megastructures with isolators, and the last one is called the lower substructure consolidated (LSC) model, in which all the substructures except for the substructures at the lowest level, in other words, substructures at the second mega floor, are isolated from the megastructures. Nonlinear dynamic time analysis of the test models is conducted by SAP2000. Acceleration responses of the megastructure, story drift responses of the megastructure and the substructure, and the deformations of the isolation layer are compared between experimental and numerical simulation results. The results show that the experimental results and numerical simulation results agree well with each other, and the isolated model and LSC model perform better than the counterpart aseismic model. The structures with isolation devices can reduce the structural responses effectively and are much safer than the structure without isolation devices.

The equation of motion of mega-sub-isolation system is established. The working mechanism of the mega-sub-isolation system is obtained by systematically investigating its dynamic characteristics corresponding to various structural parameters. Considering the number and location of the isolated substructures, a procedure to optimally design the isolator parameters of the mega-sub-isolation system is put forward based on the genetic algorithm with base shear as the optimization objective. The influence of the number and locations of isolated substructures on the control performance of mega-sub-isolation system has also been investigated from the perspective of energy. Results show that, with increase in substructure mass, the working mechanism of the mega-sub-isolation system is changed from tuned vibration absorber and energy dissipation to seismic isolation. The locations of the isolated substructures have little influence on the optimal frequency ratio but have great influence on the optimal damping ratio, while the number of isolated substructures shows great impact on both the optimal frequency ratio and damping ratio. When the number of the isolated substructures is determined, the higher the isolated substructures, the more the energy that will be consumed by the isolation devices, and with the increase of the number of isolated substructures, the better control performance can be achieved.

Predictions of fiducial cross sections, differential cross sections, and lepton charge asymmetry are presented for the production ofW±bosons with leptonic decay up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD. Differential cross sections ofW±bosons andWboson lepton charge asymmetry are computed as a function of lepton pseudorapidity for a defined fiducial region inppcollisions ats=13 TeV. Numerical results of fiducialW±cross section predictions are presented with the latest modern PDF models at next-to-leading order (NLO) and NNLO. It is found that the CT14 and NNPDF 3.0 predictions with NNLO QCD corrections are about 4% higher than the NLO CT14 and NNPDF 3.0 predictions while MMHT 2014 predictions with NLO QCD corrections are smaller than its NNLO QCD predictions by approximately 6%. In addition, the NNLO QCD corrections reduce the scale variation uncertainty on the cross section by a factor of 3.5. The prediction of central values and considered uncertainties are obtained using FEWZ 3.1 program.

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm.f.) Lindau (Acanthaceae), commonly known as Sabah snake grass, is a vegetable and a well-known herb that is considered an alternative medicine for insect bites, skin rashes, herpes infection, inflammation, and cancer and for health benefits. Current review aims to provide a well-tabulated repository of the phytochemical screening, identification and quantification, and the pharmacological information of C. nutans according to the experimental design and the plant preparation methods which make it outstanding compared to existing reviews. This review has documented valuable data obtained from all accessible library databases and electronic searches. For the first time we analyzed the presence of flavonoids, triterpenoids, steroids, phytosterols, and glycosides in C. nutans based on the results from phytochemical screening which are then further confirmed by conventional phytochemical isolation methods and advanced spectroscopic techniques. Phytochemical quantification further illustrated that C. nutans is a good source of phenolics and flavonoids. Pharmacological studies on C. nutans revealed that its polar extract could be a promising anti-inflammation, antiviral, anticancer, immune and neuromodulating, and plasmid DNA protective agent; that its semipolar extract could be a promising antiviral, anticancer, and wound healing agent; and that its nonpolar extract could be an excellent anticancer agent.

Maltodextrins that contain both simple sugars and polymers of saccharides have been widely used as ingredients in food products and pharmaceutical delivery systems. To date, no much work has been reported on the applications of maltodextrin from broken rice (RB) sources. Therefore, the objective of this work was to investigate thein vitrowound healing efficacy of RB maltodextrin at different conditions. Wounds treated with lower dextrose equivalent (DE) range (DE 10–14) of maltodextrins at a concentration of 10% obtained from RB were found to be able to heal the wounds significantly faster (p<0.01) than maltodextrin with higher DE ranges (DE 15–19 and DE 20–24) and concentrations of 5% and 20%. The findings from both BrdU and MTT assay further confirmed its wound healing properties as the NIH 3T3 fibroblast wounded cells were able to proliferate without causing cytotoxic effect when wounded cell was treated with maltodextrin. All these findings indicated that the RB maltodextrin could perform better than the commercial maltodextrin at the same DE range. This study showed that RB maltodextrins had better functionality properties than other maltodextrin sources and played a beneficial role in wound healing application.

Stochastic seismic responses of base-isolated high-rise buildings subjected to fully nonstationary earthquake ground motion are computed by combining the pseudoexcitation and the equivalent linearization methods, and the accuracy of results obtained by the pseudoexcitation method is verified by the Monte Carlo method. The superstructure of a base-isolated high-rise building is represented by a finite element model and a shear-type multi-degree of freedom model, respectively. The influence of the model type and the number of the modes of the superstructure participating in the computation of the dynamic responses of the isolated system has been investigated. The results of a 20-storey, 3D-frame with height to width ratio of 4 show that storey drifts and absolute accelerations of the superstructure for such a high-rise building will be substantially underestimated if the shear-type multi-degree of freedom model is employed or the higher modes of the superstructure are neglected; however, this has nearly no influence on the drift of the base slab.

Response surface methodology was used to predict the effects and to optimize the concentration of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (0.1–1.5% w/w), sodium caseinate (0–1% w/w) and glycerol (0–2% w/w) on storage quality of coated Berangan banana (Musa sapientum cv. Berangan). The experimental data could be adequately fitted into a second-order polynomial model with multiple regression coefficients (R2) of 0.787, 0.704, 0.933, 0.786 and 0.886 for the weight loss, firmness, total color difference, total soluble solids content and titratable acidity of coated banana, respectively. The optimum concentrations of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium caseinate and glycerol for coating banana were predicted to be 1.32, 0.40 and 0.86%, respectively. In general, the sodium caseinate content appeared to be the most significant factor influencing all characteristics of coated banana studied at 26±2C and 40–50% relative humidity. No significant difference between experimental and predicted values verified the accuracy of the response surface models employed. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Edible coatings create a modified atmosphere within the fruits and delay their ripening process. Type and concentration of edible coating components contributed in determining the quality (changes in physicochemical characteristics) of coated Berangan banana. Protein and polysaccharide coatings have excellent barrier properties against O2 and CO2. Small amount of additive such as plastisizers like glycerol can improve the appearance of coated fruit and mechanical property of the edible coating. Due to the hydrophobic nature of banana cuticle, addition of emulsifiers such as sodium caseinate can enhance the homogeneity of the edible coating on the banana skin. Therefore, composite edible coatings can successfully be employed as a means to improve the barrier characteristics of edible coatings covering the banana and hence extend its shelf life.

This paper presents an application of adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control (AFSMC) for a benchmark problem on a seismically excited highway bridge. This approach combines great advantages of sliding mode control (SMC), adaptive control and fuzzy control without compromising the stability or robustness. Switching-type control law of the conventional SMC and uncertainty part of the equivalent control is approximated by fuzzy controller to attenuate the chattering phenomenon of SMC and harmful effects caused by uncertainties. In order to reduce the complexity of the fuzzy rule bases, adaptive law based on Lyapunov function and Barbalat lemma is designed. AFSMC is also integrated with clipped-optimal strategy to illustrate its efficiency for semi-active MR dampers. Robustness of the AFSMC controller has been demonstrated analyzing ±30% perturbation in the stiffness of the bridge. Numerical results indicate that the response quantities of the highway bridge can be reduced to a satisfactory level superior to those of the sample LQG and LQG/clipped-optimal algorithms. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper presents sample control system designs for the three-dimensional benchmark structural control problem for seismically excited highway bridge. Three types of sample control systems, namely nonlinear viscous dampers, ideal hydraulic actuators and magnetorheological fluid dampers, are designed and presented for comparison by participants in the study. For each of the three-sample control systems, a total of 16 control devices are proposed to be placed orthogonally between the deck-ends and abutments for the reduction of earthquake-induced vibrations of the highway bridge. An H2/LQG control algorithm is selected for the active case and a clipped optimal control algorithm is chosen for the semi-active case. To facilitate the controller design, an eigenmode reduction method is used to reduce the number of degrees of freedom of the initially elastic model to obtain a reduced-order model. However, the evaluation model to simulate the performance of control strategies is the full-order nonlinear finite element model. A Kalman filter is used to estimate states of the reduced-order model required for the applications of controllers for both active and semi-active cases using selected acceleration and displacement measurements. The modeling and sample control system designs presented in this paper are for illustration purposes only, and are not intended to be competitive. Participants of this benchmark study are expected to employ more competitive control designs for their own control strategies. These control strategies may be passive, active, semi-active or a combination thereof. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUMMARY This paper presents the fully base-isolated highway bridge benchmark problem. The highway bridge benchmark problem consists of two phases: (1) Phase I—the bridge deck being base isolated only at the abutments and the center bent being integral with the pier (without isolation), and (2) Phase II—the bridge deck being fully base isolated at both the bent/pier and abutment locations. In both phases of the highway bridge benchmark, the objective is to augment the performance of the isolation system using supplemental control strategies. The problem definition (Part I) as well as a sample controller (Part II) for Phase I of the study has been presented in the companion papers. The focus of this paper is to present the fully baseisolated highway bridge and sample Lyapunov semiactive controller (Part III). As-built structural designs of the 91/5 overcrossing in Orange county in Southern California are used to develop the finite-element model for this benchmark based on Phase I. The nonlinear analysis tool and the controller interface have been developed in MATLAB. The bridge is isolated using nonlinear elastomeric bearings with a lead core. Magneto-rheological (MR) dampers are used to control the seismic response of the bridge. The MR dampers are installed at the isolation level at 10 locations over the abutments and bent/pier locations, each location consisting of an orthogonal pair of dampers to control the responses in both directions. The outputs allowed in the benchmark problem definition are used to design the controller and the velocity and displacement measurements if required are obtained by integrating accelerations using a filter, which simulates integration. Detailed comparisons of benchmark performance indices for the fully base-isolated bridge with sample semiactive controllers and passive strategies are performed in comparison with the uncontrolled case, for a set of strong near-field earthquakes. The sample Lyapunov semiactive controller is shown to reduce the isolator and mid-span displacements. The modeling and sample control designs demonstrated in this paper can be used to form the basis for studying a wider variety of active and

This paper presents the problem definition of the benchmark structural control problem for the seismically excited highway bridge. The benchmark problem is based on the newly constructed 91/5 highway over-crossing in southern California. The goal of this benchmark effort is to develop a standardized model of a highway bridge using which competing control strategies, including devices, algorithms and sensors, can be evaluated comparatively. To achieve this goal, a 3D finite-element model is developed in MATLAB to represent the complex behavior of the full-scale highway over-crossing. The nonlinear behavior of center columns and isolation bearings is considered in formulating the bilinear force–deformation relationship. The effect of soil–structure interaction is considered by modeling the interaction by equivalent spring and dashpot. The ground motions are considered to be applied simultaneously in two directions. A MATLAB-based nonlinear structural analysis tool has been developed and made available for nonlinear dynamic analysis. Control devices are assumed to be installed between the deck and the end abutments of the bridge. Evaluation criteria and control constraints are specified for the design of controllers. Passive, semi-active and active devices and algorithms can be used to study the benchmark model. The participants in this benchmark study are required to define their control devices, sensors and control algorithms, evaluate and report the results of their proposed control strategies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHDI in the treatment of influenza infection.Method. A randomized double-blind, double dummy trial was conducted. Influenza patients with a positive influenza A rapid test diagnosis were randomized to receive CHDI or oseltamivir. Primary outcome was assessed by the median fever alleviation time and clearance time, and secondary outcome was total scores of influenza symptoms.Results. One hundred thirty-nine participants were screened and 34 had a RT-PCR laboratory confirmation of influenza virus infection. Fever alleviation time was 2.5 and 5 hours in CHDI and oseltamivir, respectively, and fever clearance time was 32.5 and 49 hours. The HR of fever alleviation and clearance time shows no significant difference between two groups. Total scores of influenza symptoms descended significantly in both groups after treatment and descended more in CHDI than oseltamivir on day 2. Similar to total symptoms severity score, fever severity score descend more significantly in CHDI than oseltamivir on day 2, and there were no differences on other symptoms.Conclusions. CHDI have a similar effect to oseltamivir in reducing the duration of influenza illness. CHDI was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events noted during the study period.

The aim of this study was to determine the best parameter for extracting phenolic-enriched kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinusL.) seeds by a pulsed ultrasonic-assisted extraction. The antioxidant activities of ultrasonic-assisted kenaf seed extracts (KSE) were determined by a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity assay, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay,β-carotene bleaching inhibition assay, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) evaluations were carried out to determine the phenolic and flavonoid contents in KSE. The KSE from the best extraction parameter was then subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to quantify the phenolic compounds. The optimised extraction condition employed 80% ethanol for 15 min, with the highest values determined for the DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assay. KSE contained mainly tannic acid (2302.20 mg/100 g extract) and sinapic acid (1198.22 mg/100 g extract), which can be used as alternative antioxidants in the food industry.

Plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is one of the most widely consumed commodity plastics. Nevertheless, the commonly used plasticizers, particularly phthalates, are found to be detrimental to the environment and human health. This study aimed to investigate the ability of an alternative greener material, medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA), a kind of biopolyester and its thermally degraded oligoesters, to act as a compatible bioplasticizer for PVC. In this study, mcl-PHA were synthesized byPseudomonas putidaPGA1 in shake flask fermentation using saponified palm kernel oil (SPKO) and subsequently moderately thermodegraded to low molecular weight oligoesters (degPHA). SEM, ATR-FTIR,1H-NMR, and DMA were conducted to study the film morphology, microstructure, miscibility, and viscoelastic properties of the PVC-PHA and PVC/degPHA binary blends. Increased height and sharpness of tanδmax⁡peak for all binary blends reveal an increase in chain mobility in the PVC matrix and high miscibility within the system. The PVC-PHA miscibility is possibly due to the presence of specific interactions between chlorines of PVC with the C=O group of PHA as evidenced by spectroscopic analyses. Dynamic viscoelastic measurements also showed that mcl-PHA and their oligoesters could reduce theTgof PVC, imparting elasticity to the PVC compounds and decreasing the stiffness of PVC.