Search

We report on the effects of cosmic ray interactions with the kinetic inductance detector (KID)-based focal plane array for the terahertz intensity mapper (TIM). TIM is a NASA-funded balloon-borne experiment designed to probe the peak of the star formation in the Universe. It employs two spectroscopic bands, each equipped with a focal plane of four ∼ 900-pixel, KID-based array chips. Measurements of an 864-pixel TIM array show 791 resonators in a 0.5 GHz bandwidth. We discuss challenges with resonator calibration caused by this high multiplexing density. We robustly identify the physical positions of 788 (99.6 %) detectors using a custom LED-based identification scheme. Using this information, we show that cosmic ray events occur at a rate of 2.1 events / min / cm 2 in our array. 66 % of the events affect a single pixel, and other 33 % affect < 5 KIDs per event spread over a 0.66 cm 2 region (2 pixel pitches in radius). We observe a total cosmic ray dead fraction of 0.0011 % and predict that the maximum possible in-flight dead fraction is ∼ 0.124 %, which demonstrates our design will be robust against these high-energy events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA) is working to develop kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) that can meet the sensitivity targets of a far-infrared spectrometer on a cryogenically cooled space telescope. An important ingredient for achieving high sensitivity is increasing the fractional-frequency responsivity. Here, we present a study of the responsivity of aluminum KIDs fabricated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Specifically, we model the KID's temporal response to pair-breaking excitations in the framework of the Mattis–Bardeen theory, incorporating quasiparticle recombination dynamics and the pair-breaking efficiency. Using a near-IR laser, we measure time-resolved photon pulses and fit them to our model, extracting the time-resolved quasiparticle density and the quasiparticle recombination lifetime. Comparing the fit to the known energy of the laser provides a measurement of the pair-breaking efficiency. In addition to photon-sourced excitations, it is important to understand the KID's response to phonon-sourced excitations from cosmic rays. We measure the rate of secondary cosmic rays detected by our devices and predict the dead time due to cosmic rays for an array in L2 orbit. This work provides confidence in KIDs' robustness to cosmic ray events in the space environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis compared the efficacy of oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) and minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) in the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases. A computer search for the published literature on OLIF and MIS-TLIF for the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases in the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and other databases was performed, from which 522 related articles were retrieved and 13 were finally included. Two reviewers independently extracted data from the included studies and analyzed them using RevMan 5.4. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane systematic analysis and the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Meta-analysis showed that the blood loss [95% confidence intervals (CI) (− 121.01, − 54.56), P < 0.001 ], hospital stay [95% CI (− 1.98, − 0.85), P < 0.001 ], postoperative fusion rate [95%CI (1.04, 3.60), P = 0.04 ], postoperative disc height [95% CI (0.50, 3.63), P = 0.01 ], and postoperative foraminal height [95% CI (0.96, 4.13), P = 0.002 ] were all better in the OLIF group; however, the complication rates were significantly lower in the MIS-TLIF group [95% CI (1.01, 2.06), P = 0.04 ]. However, there were no significant differences between the two in terms of surgery time, patient satisfaction, or postoperative functional scores. The OLIF group had the advantages of lower blood loss, a shorter hospital stay, a higher postoperative fusion rate, and better recovery of the disc and foraminal heights, whereas MIS-TLIF had a relatively lower complication rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridging the gap between the computation of mechanical properties and the chemical structure of elastomers is a long-standing challenge. To fill the gap, we create a raw dataset and build predictive models for Young's modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break of polyurethane elastomers (PUEs). We then construct a benchmark dataset with 50.4% samples remained from the raw dataset which suffers from the intrinsic diversity problem, through a newly proposed recursive data elimination protocol. The coefficients of determination (R2s) from predictions are improved from 0.73–0.78 to 0.85–0.91 based on the raw and the benchmark datasets. The fitting of stress-strain curves using the machine learning model shows a slightly better performance than that for one of the well-performed constitutive models (e.g., the Khiêm-Itskov model). It confirmed that the black-box machine learning models are feasible to bridge the gap between the mechanical properties of PUEs and multiple factors for their chemical structures, composition, processing, and measurement settings. While accurate prediction for these curves is still a challenge. We release the raw dataset and the most representative benchmark dataset so far to call for more attention to tackle the long-standing gap problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic model of a post-capture spacecraft with X-shape isolation system is established considering the coupling of attitude changes, orbit motion and structural vibration. The post-capture spacecraft consists of a flexible servicing spacecraft, a target object (i.e., the debris), and an X-shape isolator. Based on hybrid coordinate method the kinetic energy, potential energy, and virtual work of the system are expressed, and the governing equations of the system are derived using Lagrange's equations. To validate the model, the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the post-capture spacecraft are calculated and compared with the results from FEM (finite element method) software. Besides, comparisons between X-shape isolator and SMD (spring-mass-damper) isolator are conducted to prove the advantages of X-shape isolator. Furthermore, the effects of structural parameters and initial velocity of the target object on the dynamic responses of the post-capture spacecraft with X-shape isolation system are shown in detail. At last, an effective controller is designed for the attitude and orbital motion of the post-capture spacecraft by using the LQR (linear quadratic regulator) control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer-solvent interaction is a fundamentally important concept routinely described by the Flory-Huggins interaction (χ), Hildebrand solubility(✉δ) and the relative energy difference (RED) determined from Hansen solubility in experimental, theoretical and simulation studies. Here we performed a machine learning study based on a comprehensive and representative dataset covering the interaction pairs from 81 polymers and 1221 solvents. The regression models provide the coefficients of determination in the range of 0.86–0.94 and the classification models deliver the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) better than 0.93. These models were integrated into a newly developed software polySML-PSI. Important features including LogP, molar volume and dipole are identified, and their non-linear, nonmonotonic contributions to polymer-solvent interactions are presented. The widely known "like-dissolve-like" rule and two broadly used empirical equations to estimate χ as a function of temperature or Hansen solubility are also evaluated, and the polymer-specified constants are presented. This study provides a quantitative reference and a tool to understand and utilize the concept of polymer-solvent interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parametric study and stability analysis on nonlinear traveling wave vibrations of rotating thin cylindrical shells with simply supported boundary conditions are carried out in the paper. Considering the Coriolis forces as well as the initial hoop tension due to rotation, an infinite-dimensional gyro system model with nonlinearity is established by using Lagrange equations. Based on this model, convergence analysis is performed and the most significant modes dominating the nonlinear behavior are recognized to discretize it to a finite multi-degree system. Then, the periodic solutions of the system are tracked by using harmonic balance method combined with arc length continuation technique. Furthermore, parametric studies are performed and the effects of rotating speed, damping ratio and the amplitude of excitation on the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the shell are investigated. Meanwhile, the Floquet theory is employed to carry out stability analysis of the periodic solutions. The results shown in this paper illustrate the nonlinear dynamic evolution of the traveling wave vibration for rotating thin cylindrical shells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The free vibration of rotating bending-torsional composite Timoshenko beams (CTBs) with arbitrary boundary conditions is analyzed. The composite material coupled rigidity, Coriolis effects and the separation of the cross-section's mass and shear centers are considered and they will cause the bending-torsion coupled vibration of the beam. Based on the Hamilton's principle, the governing partial differential matrix equation of motion of the beam are formulated with variable coefficients. Those equations containing variable coefficients are expressed in a special matrix form in terms of the flexural translation, rotation of cross section and torsional rotation of the beam. The differential transform matrix method (DTMM), which is an improved approach from the traditional differential transform method (DTM), is proposed to deal with the governing matrix equation with corresponding boundary conditions. The mode shapes and natural frequencies of the beam are obtained. Cantilevers are calculated as examples to verify the present theory and investigate the dynamic characteristics of the rotating CTB. The present results are consistent with those reported in the literature and those calculated from COMSOL. The influence of the composite material rigidity, rotation speed, hub radius and axial load on the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the beam are studied, while the frequency veering and mode shift phenomena are observed. Furthermore, the beam's critical buckling loads corresponding to the axial load are found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Origami has recently received wide attention, and the study on its dynamic characteristics remains a nascent field. The waterbomb origami is a common subtype of origami, and its base structure is treated as a bi-stable configuration in the literature. The systematical framework for modeling, simulation and dynamic analysis of the vibration for the waterbomb origami base is established in this paper. In the presented model, the motion of the waterbomb origami base is divided into two working patterns according to its geometric characteristic. The nonlinear governing equation of motion of the waterbomb origami base is formulated based on the Lagrange's equation. The base's free and forced responses can be calculated by using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. The developed model is validated by the results predicted by the simulation in ADAMS. With the developed theoretical framework, the base's vertical effective stiffness and natural frequency of its linearized system are discussed to reveal their programmability with respect to the base's structure and design parameters. Remarkably, the bifurcations of its equilibria, including the pitchfork, transcritical and (special) saddle-node bifurcations, are analyzed. Unlike the bi-stable configuration reported in the literature, the mono- and tri-stable configurations can also be realized by the base due to gravity. Furthermore, the complex nonlinear dynamic behaviors, including chaos, are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Etanercept biosimilar recombinant human tumour necrosis factor-α receptor II: IgG Fc fusion protein (rhTNFR-Fc, trade name Yisaipu) has shown good efficacy in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. To compare the efficacy and safety of rhTNFR-Fc plus methotrexate (MTX) and rhTNFR-Fc plus placebo in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. In this multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis were enrolled and randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive rhTNFR-Fc plus MTX or rhTNFR-Fc plus placebo. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving Psoriasis Area and Severity Index improvement of at least 75% (PASI 75) from baseline at week 24. Adverse events (AEs) were recorded to evaluate safety. Efficacy analysis was performed using the intent-to-treat principle. A total of 466 patients were enrolled and randomly received rhTNFR-Fc plus MTX (combination group, n = 233) or rhTNFR-Fc plus placebo (monotherapy group, n = 233). PASI 75 at week 24 was significantly higher in the combination group than in the monotherapy group (81.86% vs. 65.50%, p < 0.001). Similar results were observed in other PASI improvement scores at week 12 [PASI 75, 62.39% vs. 44.54% (p < 0.001); PASI 50, 87.17% vs. 75.55% (p = 0.001); and PASI 90, 34.07% vs. 18.78% (p < 0.001)] and week 24 [PASI 50, 92.48% vs. 85.59% (p = 0.019); and PASI 90, 64.16% vs. 42.36% (p < 0.001)]. Significantly more patients had a static Physicians' Global Assessment of clear or almost clear in the combination group than in the monotherapy group at week 12 (26.46% vs. 12.50%, p < 0.001) and week 24 (62.38% vs. 40.83%, p < 0.001). The most common AEs in the two groups were upper respiratory tract infection and abnormal liver function. The combination therapy of rhTNFR-Fc plus MTX was an effective therapy for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile, indicating that it was feasible and well tolerated for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Calcium oxalate (CaOx) is a common biomineral found in the plant kingdom. Crystals of CaOx occur in different plant tissues, such as leaves and stems. However, little is known about the biosynthesis of CaOx in oxalate-accumulating plants. Moreover, the literature on genes related to CaOx formation under high-calcium environment is scarce. In the present study, the physiological parameters and the transcript profiles of Medicago lupulina leaves treated with 0.1 and 25 mM Ca2+ were analyzed to study the genes involved in the biosynthesis of CaOx. Results: We demonstrated that exposure to high external calcium concentration induced H2O2 production, ascorbic acid degradation, and CaOx accumulation in M. lupulina leaves. Moreover, we identified 1715 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (1322 up-regulated and 393 down-regulated genes) in leaves treated with 25 mM Ca2+ compared with the leaves treated with 0.1 mM Ca2+. We further demonstrated the involvement of DEGs in oxalic acid production, calcium transport, and calcium buffering. These results revealed that a high calcium promoted oxalic acid biosynthesis by inducing the expression of NADPH oxidase and ascorbate oxidase genes. In addition, several genes encoding cyclic nucleotide-gated channel, Ca2+-ATPase, H+/Ca2+ exchangers, and calcium-binding proteins were found to be differentially expressed and involved in calcium transport and calcium buffering. Conclusion: Our transcriptome analyses provide a comprehensive insight into the biosynthesis of CaOx in oxalate-accumulating plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study is to identify calcium dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) superfamily genes (including calcium dependent protein kinase (CDPK) genes, CDPK-related kinase (CRK) genes, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase-related kinase (PEPRK) genes) and to analyze their expression in response to high calcium, bicarbonate, and water deficit in Medicago lupulina. Methods: Transcriptome sequencing databases and bioinformatics were used to identify CDPK superfamily genes. qRT-PCR analyses were used to study the expression of CDPK superfamily genes in response to high calcium, bicarbonate, water deficit, and their combined treatments. Results: Ten MlCDPKs, four MlCRKs, and two MlPEPRKs genes were identified from transcriptome sequencing databases. The identified MlCDPK superfamily genes could be divided into six subgroups including CDPK I, CDPK II, CDPK III, CDPK IV, CRK, and PEPRK according to evolutionary relationships. Analysis of protein structure indicated that MlCDPK proteins contained a protein kinase domain and EF-hand domain. However, PEPRKs contained only a protein kinase domain while CRKs contained also degenerative EF-hands. Most of the MlCDPK superfamily genes were differentially expressed in different organs. According to their expression levels, MlCDPK superfamily genes such as MlCDPK1, MlCDPK9, and MlCDPK10 were more sensitive in response to individual treatments of high calcium, carbonate or PEG rather than their combination of treatments. The results indicated that MlCDPK superfamily genes may play an important role in response to those stresses. Conclusions: These results provide important insight into the role of CDPKs in M. lupulina, especially in the tolerance to Karst habitats, where high calcium and carbonate and drought conditions are the dominant ecological limiting factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we used global analytical modeswfny (GAMs) to develop a rigid-flexible dynamic modeling approach for spacecraft with large flexible appendages (SwLFA). This approach enables the convenient and precise calculation of the natural characteristics for designing an attitude control law for the spacecraft while simultaneously suppressing the active vibration of its flexible appendages. We simplify the flexible spacecraft as a rigid-flexible coupling hub-beam system with tip mass and derive the system's governing equations of motion based on Hamilton's principle. By solving the linearized form of those equations with their associated boundary conditions, we obtain the frequencies as well as the corresponding GAMs of flexible spacecraft, which we use to discretize the equations of motion. Using this approach, we performed numerical simulations to investigate the system's global modes and assess the performance of the controller based on the GAM model. The results reveal that the GAM model can be used to directly calculate the exact global modes of SwLFAs and that the controller based on the discrete GAM model can achieve a control-index for a SwLFA in a shorter time with less input energy than other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Physiological and iTRAQ based proteomic analysis provided new insights into potassium deficiency stress response in alligator weed root.Abstract: Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) has a strong ability to adapt to potassium deficiency (LK) stress. Proteomic changes in response to this stress are largely unknown in alligator weed. In this study, we investigated physiological and molecular mechanisms under LK using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation to characterize proteome-level changes in this plant. First, root physiology, 2, 3, 5-Triphenyl-trazolium chloride (TTC) assay and peroxidase activity were significantly altered after 10 and 15 days of LK treatment. The comparative proteomic analysis suggested a total of 375 proteins were differential abundance proteins. The proteomic results were verified by western blot assays and quantitative real-time PCR. Correlation analysis of transcription and proteomics suggested protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum, endocytosis, and spliceosome pathways were significantly enriched. The protein responsible for energy metabolism, signal sensing and transduction and protein degradation played crucial roles in this stress. Twelve ubiquitin pathway related proteins were identified in our study, among them 11 proteins were up-regulated. All protein ubiquitination of lysine using pan antibodies were also increased after LK treatment. Our study provide a valuable insights of molecular mechanism underlying LK stress response in alligator weed roots and afford a vital basis to further study potassium nutrition molecular breeding of other plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyse the clinical outcome of anatomic double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with irradiated versus non-irradiated hamstring allograft.Methods: One hundred and twelve patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study were prospectively randomized consecutively into irradiated hamstring tendon allograft (Ir-Allo) group and non-irradiated allograft (Non-ir-Allo) group. All surgeries were done by the same senior surgeon with double-bundle reconstruction technique. Before surgery and at follow-up points, patients were evaluated by the same observer according to clinical evaluations.Results: Eighty-three patients (Non-ir-Allo, 44; Ir-Allo, 39) fulfilled complete follow-up and got full clinical evaluations. The mean follow-up period was 5.7 years (ranging from 5.0 to 6.5 years). At the final follow-up, significant differences were found when comparing the results of the two groups according to Lachman test, ADT, pivot shift test and KT-2000 arthrometer testing (P < 0.05). According to KT-2000, 86.4 % of patients in the Non-ir-Auto group and 35.9 % in the Ir-Allo group had a side-to-side difference of <3 mm. According to the overall IKDC, functional, subjective evaluations and activity level testing, no significant differences were found between the two groups. Regarding the arthritic progression, there was significant difference between the two groups (Ir-Allo group: 30.8 %, Non-ir-Allo group: 11.4 %, P < 0.05).Conclusion: A significant increase in anterior and rotational laxity in patients of the Ir-Allo group was found according to evaluations. No significant differences in activity level and functional scores were found between the two groups. We do not advocate the irradiated hamstring tendon allograft for ACL reconstruction.Level Of Evidence: I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With extending the Rayleigh-Ritz procedure to study the hub- plate system, the characteristics of global analytical modes are addressed for a typical rigid-flexible coupling dynamic system, i.e., a three-axis attitude stabilized spacecraft installed with a pair of solar arrays. The displacement field of the solar arrays is expressed as a series of admissible functions which is a set of characteristic orthogonal polynomials generated directly by employing Gram-Schmidt process. The rigid body motion of spacecraft is represented by the product of constant and generalized coordinate. Then, through Rayleigh-Ritz procedure, the eigenvalue equation of the three-axis attitude stabilized spacecraft installed with a pair of solar arrays is derived. Solving this eigenvalue equation, the frequencies and analytical expressions of global modes for the flexible spacecraft are obtained. To validate the present analysis, comparisons between the results of the present method and ANSYS software are performed and very good agreement is achieved. The convergence studies demonstrate the high accuracy, excellent convergence and high efficiency of the present approach. Finally, the method is applied to study the characteristics of global modes of the flexible spacecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soluble sugar and organic acid levels are important evaluation indices for breeding new varieties of pear. In order to investigate the inheritance of sugars and acids, this study analyzed the inheritance of soluble sugar and organic acid in pear fruit using the reciprocal crossing populations 'Dangshansuli' and 'Housui' over two successive years. The results showed that the content of most individual acids and sugars, total acid and total sugar content were higher than that of 'Dangshansuli' and lower than that of 'Housui', trending to an average between the parents. The content of oxalate, quinate, malate, shikimate, and total acid in progenies were higher when 'Housui' was the maternal parent, suggesting that the selection of the maternal parent during the breeding process has important effects on the acid content. Conversely, individual and total sugar content did not show significant effects of the maternal parent. In addition, glucose content in progenies showed the increasing trend and sorbitol content showing the transgressive inheritance trait. The correlations for total sugar and total acid of the two populations between 2 years were significant and positive, showing stable sugar and acid traits for fruit in different years. Significant and positive correlations were also found between different components, including oxalate and malate, shikimate and quinate, and citrate and shikimate. Principal component analysis also revealed that oxalate, quinate, malate and shikimate components are closely correlated. Our study thus offers useful information for future pear breeding to improve sugar and acidity quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery has been widely accepted as an effective treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS), delayed facial palsy (DFP) is not an unusual complication, but it has only been sporadically described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the probability of occurrence, the risk/predisposing factors, and the prognosis and timing of DFP. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted that included patients diagnosed with HFS and treated by MVD at our institution. All patients were followed up at the outpatient department or by telephone from December 2009 to December 2014. Categorical variables were analyzed using the Pearson's Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Continuous variables were compared using the independent Student's t test. The Spearman rank test was used to determine the correlation between the time of onset and the duration of DFP. The risk/predisposing factors were analyzed by the logistic regression method. Results: We enrolled 248 patients who were treated by MVD for HFS. During the follow-up period, 16 patients (6.5 %) developed DFP. Fifteen of those patients had a complete recovery, and in one patient the facial palsy did not resolve. The average onset time was 10.2 days (range, 2-30 days) after surgery, and the mean duration of DFP after MVD, with exclusion of the permanent facial palsy patient, was 59.7 days (range, 7-220 days). The time of onset was correlated with the duration of DFP after MVD ( p = 0.036). Furthermore, hypertension contributed to DFP (odds ratio [OR] 4.226, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.089-16.401, p = 0.037). Conclusions: Although the degree of facial palsy was variable, most patients experienced a complete recovery without requiring any special treatment. DFP may be a self-healing disease that resolves spontaneously without any treatment. The time of onset was correlated with the duration of DFP; i.e., an earlier development of DFP corresponded with a shorter duration, whereas a later development of DFP corresponded with a longer duration. Our results also suggest that hypertension contributes to DFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a generalized i-vector representation framework with phonetic tokenization and tandem features for text independent as well as text dependent speaker verification. In the conventional i-vector framework, the tokens for calculating the zero-order and first-order Baum-Welch statistics are Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) components trained from acoustic level MFCC features. Yet besides MFCC, we believe that phonetic information makes another direction that can benefit the system performance. Our contribution in this paper lies in integrating phonetic information into the i-vector representation by several extensions, forming a more generalized i-vector framework. First, the tokens for calculating the zero-order statistics is extended from the MFCC trained GMM components to phonetic phonemes, trigrams and tandem feature trained GMM components, using phoneme posterior probabilities. Second, given the zero-order statistics (posterior probabilities on tokens), the feature used to calculate the first-order statistics is also extended from MFCC to tandem feature, and is not necessarily the same feature employed by the tokenizer. Third, the zero-order and first-order statistics vectors are then concatenated and represented by the simplified supervised i-vector approach followed by the standard Probabilistic Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLDA) back-end. We study different token and feature combinations, and we show that the feature level fusion of acoustic level MFCC features and phonetic level tandem features with GMM based i-vector representation achieves the best performance for text independent speaker verification. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the phonetic level phoneme constraints introduced by the tandem features help the text dependent speaker verification system to reject wrong password trials and improve the performance dramatically. Experimental results are reported on the NIST SRE 2010 common condition 5 female part task and the RSR 2015 part 1 female part task for text independent and text dependent speaker verification, respectively. For the text independent speaker verification task, the proposed generalized i-vector representation outperforms the i-vector baseline by relatively 53 % in terms of equal error rate (EER) and norm minDCF values. For the text dependent speaker verification task, our proposed approach also reduced the EER significantly from 23 % to 90 % relatively for different types of trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic model of a disk-drum-shaft rotor system with rub-impact is established and its dynamic characteristics are analyzed. According to an elastic impact model and Coulomb's friction law, two rub-impact force models are firstly developed which corresponding to the disk-stator contact and the drum-stator contact, respectively. Taking into account, the coupling of the whole rotor whirl and the local drum vibration, the dynamic model of a disk-drum-shaft rotor system with the disk-stator and the drum-stator rubbing is established by employing Sanders' shell theory and Lagrange equation. The numeric results reveal that the continuous increase in rotating speed, disk mass eccentricity, and stator radial stiffness induces alternation of periodic-one motion of the disk without disk-stator contact, periodic-one motion with disk-stator full annular rubbing and the disk-stator partial rubbing region in which the quasi-periodic and periodic motions of the disk appear alternately. In addition, the motion of the drum is synchronous with that of the disk and has three situations, i.e., un-deformation, deformation with one circumferential wave, and periodic and quasi-periodic vibration with drum-stator rubbing. Due to the effects of the drum, the rotating speed corresponding to the start of the disk-stator full annular rubbing in the disk-drum-shaft rotor system is smaller than that in the disk-shaft rotor system, and there is only one disk-stator partial rubbing region which is near the critical speed of rotor system. What is more, compared with parameters of the disk, those of the drum can only affect the motion of the rotor system slightly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the fully automatic headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME)/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and multivariate statistical methods, a novel model of identifying and evaluating the quality of Yunnan Pu-erh green tea was constructed for the first time in this work. Twelve Pu-erh green teas from 12 typical production sites of Pu-erh district in Yunnan Province and 6 regular green teas from Zhejiang, Sichuan, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, and Jiangsu provinces of China were used to construct the model. Data from 18 green tea samples by GC-MS were processed with fingerprint technology and chemometric methods. The GC-MS fingerprints from 12 Pu-erh green teas whose correlation coefficients and congruence coefficients were over 0.850 and demonstrated Pu-erh green tea samples from different production sites in Yunnan were consistent to some extent in spite of slightly different chemical indexes. A total of 77 volatile compounds were identified in 18 green teas, mainly including linalool, linalool oxides, phytol, caffeine, geraniol, and dihydroactinidiolide, and their chemical compositions were slightly similar. Cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that 12 Pu-erh green teas could be clearly distinguished from other six regular green teas according to their chemical characteristics. Our results thus indicate that the chromatographic fingerprint combined with multivariate statistical techniques is useful for the identity and consistency evaluation of Pu-erh green teas. Such an approach is believed to be equally applicable to other green teas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NACs are one of the largest transcription factor families in plants and are involved in the response to abiotic stress. BoNAC019, a homologue of AtNAC019, was isolated from cabbage (Brassica oleracea). BoNAC019 was localized in the nucleus and functioned as a transcriptional activator. The expression of BoNAC019 was induced by dehydration, salt, abscisic acid (ABA), and H2O2 treatments. BoNAC019 overexpressing plants were generated to explore the function of BoNAC019 in response to drought stress. Overexpression (OE) of BoNAC019 reduced drought tolerance with lower survival rate, higher water loss rate, lower proline content and ABA content. The seed germination and root length assays of BoNAC019-OE plants showed decreased sensitivity to ABA. Under drought condition, antioxidant enzymes and anthocyanin content decreased in BoNAC019 -OE plants, resulting in the accumulation of more reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause damage to plants. Several stress-responsive genes, antioxidant enzymatic genes, anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and ABA signaling genes were down-regulated under drought condition while the ABA catabolism genes were induced in BoNAC019-OE plants under both normal and drought conditions. Our results demonstrated that BoNAC019 might participated in regulating drought tolerance by inducing ABA catabolism genes and decreasing ABA content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is no reliable biomarker to clinically predict the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (ADC). The receptor-tyrosine-kinase like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) is reported to be overexpressed and associated with poor prognosis in several tumors. This study aimed to examine the expression of ROR1 and evaluate its prognostic significance in human lung ADC patients. In this present study, Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry were performed to characterize expression of ROR1 protein in lung ADC patients. The results revealed that ROR1 protein expression was significantly higher in lung ADC tissues than that in their adjacent non-tumor tissues. Patients at advanced stages and those with positive lymph node metastasis expressed higher level of ROR1 (P < 0.001). Moreover, Chi-square test showed that ROR1 expression was correlated to gender (P = 0.028), the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor-node-metastasis (AJCC TNM) staging system and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated an association of high ROR1 expression with worse overall survival (OS) in lung ADC patients (P < 0.001). Multivariate COX regression analysis further confirmed that ROR1 is an independent prognostic predictor (P < 0.001, HR = 4.114, 95% CI: 2.513-6.375) for OS. Therefore, ROR1 expression significantly correlates with malignant attributes of lung ADC and it may serve as a novel prognostic marker in lung ADC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]