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The role of protein members containing the WD40 repeat domain in many diseases, including cancer, is well documented. However, the role of WD repeat domain 48 (WDR48) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its molecular basis remain to be further investigated. In the present study, we report that WDR48 is downregulated in clinical HCC samples and evaluate the relationship between its expression and clinical features of HCC. In vitro experiments showed that WDR48 positively regulated the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of HCC cells and in vivo experiments showed that downregulation of WDR48 significantly inhibited the tumorigenicity of HCC cells. Mechanistically, WDR48 binds to the proto-oncogene transcriptional regulator c-Myc and stabilizes c-Myc expression by mediating its deubiquitination, thereby enhancing cell proliferation and EMT signalling. Our study demonstrates the oncogenic role of WDR48 and suggests that WDR48 can be an important target in HCC.

The significant effect of the closed-detached response on the system is often ignored by traditional vibration control and energy-harvesting devices. In this study, we design a composite vibration energy-harvesting damper by combining the lever-type nonlinear energy sink, the three-spring quasi-zero stiffness structure, and the suspended magneto-electric energy harvester. The analytical as well as the numerical solutions are obtained using the harmonic balance method combined with the arc-length extension method as well as the Runge–Kutta method, respectively. Numerical solutions support analytical solutions. The presence of the closed-detached voltage makes composite system voltage harvesting more efficient. In addition, we investigate the performance of vibration control and energy harvesting by changing the dynamic parameters of the system such as attached mass, stiffness, and fulcrum position. Finally, when compared with the traditional absorber, the proposed absorber shows great improvement either in vibration control or in energy harvesting.

In this paper, a novel negative stiffness inertial nonlinear energy sink (NSI-NES) is proposed. The main structure is simulated as a single-degree-of-freedom linear oscillator. Newton's second law is applied to derive the kinematic equations of the coupled system. Based on the Runge–Kutta numerical solution, the complex dynamical behaviors of the system coupled with the NSI-NES are explored. Moreover, the quasiperiodic solution exhibited a strongly modulated response (SMR). The steady-state response of the system is obtained using the Runge–Kutta and harmonic balance methods and is cross-corroborated. Compared with the inertial nonlinear energy sink (I-NES) and the positive stiffness inertial nonlinear energy sink (PSI-NES), the damping effects of the NSI-NES are highlighted based on various excitations. The results show that the NSI-NES has a damping effect of up to 90%. In addition, the effect of the NSI-NES parameters on the damping effect is discussed. In general, the negative stiffness element can significantly improve NES performance. Therefore, this study promotes the application of negative stiffness and inerter in engineering.

A nonlinear energy sink can achieve vibration reduction without changing the resonant frequency of the system. In this work, an improved nonlinear energy sink is proposed by integrating with an electromagnetic system. The vibration reduction performance is further enhanced and an energy harvesting function is achieved at the same time. The dynamic equations of the primary system with the improved nonlinear energy sink are established, and the electromagnetic analysis is performed. The steady-state response of the system is solved with the harmonic balance method and verified by numerical simulations. The integration of the electromagnetic system provides additional damping to the nonlinear energy sink, and the vibration reduction performances under the harmonic and the impulsive excitations are enhanced. At the same time, the vibrational energy is effectively harvested by the electromagnetic system. The integration of the electromagnetic system does not change the resonant frequency of the system and retains the targeted energy transfer characteristic. The proposed system is applicable to the nonlinear energy sink with originally insufficient damping, and the electromagnetic coupling coefficient is a key parameter affecting both the vibration reduction and the energy harvesting performances. This integrated system is expected to provide a new strategy for multifunctional devices.

As a member of the deoxyribonuclease 1 family, DNASE1L3 plays a significant role both inside and outside the cell. However, the role of DNASE1L3 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its molecular basis remains to be further investigated. In this study, we report that DNASE1L3 is downregulated in clinical HCC samples and evaluate the relationship between its expression and HCC clinical features. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that DNASE1L3 negatively regulates the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of HCC cells. Mechanistic studies showed that DNASE1L3 recruits components of the cytoplasmic β-catenin destruction complex (GSK-3β and Axin), promotes the ubiquitination degradation of β-catenin, and inhibits its nuclear transfer, thus, decreasing c-Myc, P21 and P27 level. Ultimately, cell cycle and EMT signals are restrained. In general, this study provides new insight into the mechanism for HCC and suggests that DNASE1L3 can become a considerable target for HCC.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor recurrence and metastasis are key therapeutic targets in cancer treatment. MicroRNAs display therapeutic potential by controlling the properties of CSCs; however, whether an association exists between miR-3682-3p and CSCs is unknown.To investigate the mechanism by which miR-3682-3p promotes stemness maintenance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MiR-3682-3p expression in HCC cell lines and 34 pairs of normal and HCC specimens was assayed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The functional role of miR-3682-3p was investigatedWe found that miR-3682-3p plays a key role in HCC pathogenesis by promoting HCC cell stemness. The upregulation of miR-3682-3p enhanced CSC spheroid-forming ability, side population cell fractions, and the expression of CSC factors in HCC cellsOur findings reveal a novel mechanism by which miR-3682-3p promotes stemness in HCC stem cells. Silencing miR-3682-3p may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Background Cholecystectomy is a common elective procedure for cholecystic diseases, including cholecystitis and cholelithiasis. Common bile duct injury is a major complication in both open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). The number of cholecystectomies performed has increased due to popularization and application of the laparoscopic technique, which has led to an increase in the number of bile duct injuries. Case summary A 65-year-old man presented to the General Surgery Department with a complaint of repeated right upper quadrant pain for 2 years that had worsened over the previous day. The patient had a history of gallstones and hypertension. A LC was performed; it was found that a biliary stricture of 53 h duration was caused by a ligature injury of the common bile duct during the LC. Another laparoscopic exploration was performed, and the stricture was released. Conclusion LC is a common surgical procedure, but if a complication occurs, it is important for the surgeon to consider another exploratory surgery.

A nonlinear vibration isolation system is promising to provide a high-efficient broadband isolation performance. In this paper, a generalized vibration isolation system is established with nonlinear stiffness, nonlinear viscous damping, and Bouc-Wen (BW) hysteretic damping. An approximate analytical analysis is performed based on a harmonic balance method (HBM) and an alternating frequency/time (AFT) domain technique. To evaluate the damping effect, a generalized equivalent damping ratio is defined with the stiffness-varying characteristics. A comprehensive comparison of different kinds of damping is made through numerical simulations. It is found that the damping ratio of the linear damping is related to the stiffness-varying characteristics while the damping ratios of two kinds of nonlinear damping are related to the responding amplitudes. The linear damping, hysteretic damping, and nonlinear viscous damping are suitable for the small-amplitude, medium-amplitude, and large-amplitude conditions, respectively. The hysteretic damping has an extra advantage of broadband isolation.

The nonlinear behaviors and vibration reduction of a linear system with nonlinear energy sink (NES) are investigated. The linear system is excited by a harmonic and random base excitation, consisting of a mass block, a linear spring, and a linear viscous damper. The NES is composed of a mass block, a linear viscous damper, and a spring with ideal cubic nonlinear stiffness. Based on the generalized harmonic function method, the steady-state Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equation is presented to reveal the response of the system. The path integral method based on the Gauss-Legendre polynomial is used to achieve the numerical solutions. The performance of vibration reduction is evaluated by the displacement and velocity transition probability densities, the transmissibility transition probability density, and the percentage of the energy absorption transition probability density of the linear oscillator. The sensitivity of the parameters is analyzed for varying the nonlinear stiffness coefficient and the damper ratio. The investigation illustrates that a linear system with NES can also realize great vibration reduction under harmonic and random base excitations and random bifurcation may appear under different parameters, which will affect the stability of the system.

Background Breast cancer is a common cancer among women in the world. However, its pathogenesis is still to be determined. The role and molecular mechanism of Nucleosome Assembly Protein 1 Like 1 (NAP1L1) in breast cancer have not been reported. Elucidation of molecular mechanism might provide a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment. Methods A bioinformatics analysis was conducted to determine the differential expression of NAP1L1 in breast cancer and find the potential biomarker that interacts with NAP1L1 and hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF). The expression of NAP1L1 in tissues was detected by using immunohistochemistry. Breast cancer cells were transfected with the corresponding lentiviral particles and siRNA. The efficiency of transfection was measured by RT-qPCR and western blotting. Then, MTT, Edu, plate clone formation, and subcutaneous tumorigenesis in nude mice were used to detect the cell proliferation in breast cancer. Furthermore, coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay and confocal microscopy were performed to explore the detailed molecular mechanism of NAP1L1 in breast cancer. Results In this study, NAP1L1 protein was upregulated based on the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) database. Consistent with the prediction, immunohistochemistry staining showed that NAP1L1 protein expression was significantly increased in breast cancer tissues. Its elevated expression was an unfavorable factor for breast cancer clinical progression and poor prognosis. Stably or transiently knocking down NAP1L1 reduced the cell growth in vivo and in vitro via repressing the cell cycle signal in breast cancer. Furthermore, the molecular basis of NAP1L1-induced cell cycle signal was further studied. NAP1L1 interacted with the HDGF, an oncogenic factor for tumors, and the latter subsequently recruited the key oncogenic transcription factor c-Jun, which finally induced the expression of cell cycle promoter Cyclin D1(CCND1) and thus the cell growth of breast cancer. Conclusions Our data demonstrated that NAP1L1 functions as a potential oncogene via interacting with HDGF to recruit c-Jun in breast cancer.

This paper explores a new method for vibration control and energy harvesting by coupling a nonlinear energy sink (NES) with a cantilever beam containing giant magnetostrictive material. A mathematical model of the principal linear system under the action of an external harmonic force is established, and the dynamic equation of the system is derived using Newton’s second law, Hamilton’s principle, and nonlinear boundary conditions. The displacement responses of the system as functions of time and of frequency are obtained by using the Runge–Kutta method and harmonic balance method. The analytic results are found to be consistent with the numerical solution, confirming the accuracy and reliability of the calculated results. The frequency response and time response of the system with and without NES coupling, and with other parameters unchanged, were compared. The results show that the proposed structure can achieve excellent vibration suppression. The energy harvesting effect of the system as a function of time is also analyzed by the Runge–Kutta method, comparing results for different values of parameters such as NES mass, nonlinear spring stiffness, and damping coefficient. The results indicate that the proposed structure can achieve the desired effects of vibration reduction and energy harvesting, and that results can be optimized by adjusting the relevant parameters.

Integration of a vibration absorber and an energy harvester is a promising approach to achieve simultaneously vibration reductions and vibratory energy harvesting. The present work investigates random responses of a nonlinear energy sink (NES) combined with a giant magnetostrictive energy harvester (GMEH). When a structure is modeled as a one-degree-of-freedom oscillator subjected to a random excitation, the structure with the integrated NES-GMEH is governed by two simultaneous nonlinear stochastic differential equations coupled with a nonlinear algebraic equation. The Ferrari formula is applied to decouple the algebraic equations from the stochastic differential-algebraic equations. The resulting stochastic algebraic differential equations are transformed into the steady Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equations. A fourth finite difference scheme is used to solve numerically the FPK equations. The FPK equations based solutions are qualitatively verified via Monte Carlo simulations. The parametric effects on vibration suppression and electricity production are examined, where the electricity is indicated by the square expectations of voltage and power. The responses of the structure, the structure with the NES only and the structure with both NES-GMEH are compared under the same Gaussian white noise and system parameters. It is found that the integrated NES-GMEH system achieves the best vibration suppression. It is demonstrated that a properly designed NES-GMEH device can simultaneously suppress vibration and produce electricity under Gaussian white noise excitations.

A novel vibration isolation device called the nonlinear energy sink (NES) with NiTiNOL-steel wire ropes (NiTi-ST) is applied to a whole-spacecraft system. The NiTi-ST is used to describe the damping of the NES, which is coupled with the modified Bouc-Wen model of hysteresis. The NES with NiTi-ST vibration reduction principle uses the irreversibility of targeted energy transfer (TET) to concentrate the energy locally on the nonlinear oscillator, and then dissipates it through damping in the NES with NiTi-ST. The generalized vibration transmissibility, obtained by the root mean square treatment of the harmonic response of the nonlinear output frequency response functions (NOFRFs), is first used as the evaluation index to analyze the whole-spacecraft system in the future. An optimization analysis of the impact of system responses is performed using different parameters of NES with NiTi-ST based on the transmissibility of NOFRFs. Finally, the effects of vibration suppression by varying the parameters of NiTi-ST are analyzed from the perspective of energy absorption. The results indicate that NES with NiTi-ST can reduce excessive vibration of the whole-spacecraft system, without changing its natural frequency. Moreover, the NES with NiTi-ST can be directly used in practical engineering applications.

BACKGROUND Most eukaryocytes release nano vesicles (30-120 nm), named exosomes, to various biological fluids such as blood, lymph, and milk. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the tumors with the highest incidence rate in primary malignant carcinoma of the liver. However, the mechanism of HCC proliferation remains elusive. In this study, we aim to explore whether HCC cell-derived exosomes affect the proliferation of cancer cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS Exosomes were isolated from HCC cells by ultracentrifugation and were visualized the phenotype by transmission electron microscopy. Cell proliferation was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 assays and EdU (5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine) incorporation assays. Dual-luciferase assays were performed to validate the paired correlation of miR-155 and 3'-UTR of PTEN (gene of phosphate and tension homology deleted on chromosome 10). A xenograft mice model was constructed to verify the effect of exosome-mediated miR-155 on cell proliferation in vivo. RESULTS Our finding showed that miR-155 was enriched in exosomes released from HCC cells. The exosome-containing miR-155 transferred into new HCC targeted cells and lead to the elevation of HCC cells' proliferation. Besides, the exosomal miR-155 directly bound to 3'-UTR of PTEN leading to the reduction of relevant targets in recipient liver cells. The knockdown of PTEN attenuated the proliferation of HCC cells treated with the exosomal miR-155. Moreover, nude-mouse experiment results revealed a promotional effect of the exosomal miR-155 on HCC cell-acquired xenografts. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicated that exosomal-specific miR-155 transfers to adjacent and/or more distant cells and stimulates the proliferation of HCC cells.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a common cancer worldwide and its precise mechanism is largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression levels of NOD-like receptor X1 (NLRX1), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and NF-κB in GC and normal gastric tissue samples to determine the association with the clinicopathological features of GC. GC and adjacent normal gastric tissues from 60 patients with GC were analyzed using immunohistochemistry and western blotting analysis. In addition, the association between NLRX1, TRAF6 and NF-κB expression levels were investigated by Spearman's correlation analysis. The results revealed that NLRX1 protein expression levels were downregulated in the GC tissues compared with the normal gastric tissues (P

In order to improve the harsh dynamic environment experienced by heavy rockets during different external excitations, this study presents a novel active variable stiffness vibration isolator (AVS-VI) used as the vibration isolation device to reduce excessive vibration of the whole-spacecraft isolation system. The AVS-VI is composed of horizontal stiffness spring, positive stiffness spring, parallelogram linkage mechanism, piezoelectric actuator, acceleration sensor, viscoelastic damping, and PID active controller. Based on the AVS-VI, the generalized vibration transmissibility determined by the nonlinear output frequency response functions and the energy absorption rate is applied to analyze the isolation performance of the whole-spacecraft system with AVS-VI. The AVS-VI can conduct adaptive vibration suppression with variable stiffness to the whole-spacecraft system, and the analysis results indicate that the AVS-VI is effective in reducing the extravagant vibration of the whole-spacecraft system, where the vibration isolation is decreased up to above 65% under different acceleration excitations. Finally, different parameters of AVS-VI are considered to optimize the whole-spacecraft system based on the generalized vibration transmissibility and the energy absorption rate.

Numerous studies have reported the important role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in human cancers. Although abnormal miR-29b expression has been linked to tumorigenesis in several cancers, its role in cholangiocarcinoma remains largely unknown. We found that miR-29b expression is frequently downregulated in human cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 cells and in clinical tumor samples. In cholangiocarcinoma patients, low miR-29b expression predicts poor overall survival. Overexpression of miR-29b in QBC939 cells inhibited proliferation, induced G1 phase cycle arrest, and promoted apoptosis. Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analysis revealed a decreased methylation imprint at the promoter of the cell cycle inhibitor gene CDKN2B in cells overexpressing miR-29b. After identifying the DNA methyltransferase DNMT3B as a putative miR-29b target, luciferase reporter assays confirmed a suppressive effect of miR-29b on DNMT3B expression. Accordingly, we detected an inverse correlation between miR-29b and DNMT3B expression in clinical cholangiocarcinoma specimens. In QBC939 cells, DNMT3B overexpression promoted proliferation and inhibited apoptosis. DNMT3B silencing, in turn, led to increased CDKN2B expression. We also observed significant growth arrest in subcutaneous tumors formed in nude mice by QBC939 cells overexpressing miR-29b. These findings suggest miR-29b functions as a tumor suppressor in cholangiocarcinoma by relieving DNMT3B-mediated repression of CDKN2B expression.

Background: Until now, the novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused wide dissemination in China and other 72 countries, affecting more than 90,000 peoples. Global health systems are facing the unprecedented challenges. Here we shared the experiences and lessons in emergency responses and management from our hospital, a government-assigned regional anti-COVID-19 general hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Methods: All measures were designed and taken based on three periodic strategies with different emphases, in response to the epidemic progress. Beginning on January 6, 2020, an emergency leadership committee with subsidiary companion teams were established in Phase Ⅰ. Proactive preparation like infrastructure modifications and personnel training were conducted. In Phase Ⅱ, no efforts were spared on special arrangements for outpatients, surgeries, and online medical services to cut the visitors density. With continuous drop of newly confirmed cases since mid-February, regular hospital operation recovered gradually (Phase Ⅲ). COVID-19 screening flow was tailored in each phase. Questionnaires for staffs’ mental status and satisfaction were also surveyed. Findings: Since January 16, three patients were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in our hospital. No hospital employees were infected with COVID-19. There was no case of hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection for those who received medical care in the setting of both outpatient and inpatient. During the epidemics, 6·46% staffs suffered depression, 9·87% had anxiety, and 98% were satisfied with the hospital infection control work. Shortages in staffs and medical consumables, and limitation in space were the obstacles we encountered. Interpretation: As the outbreak was rapid and sudden, and great uncertainties in COVID-19 still remain, we faced substantial challenges and difficulties. As the cost of in-hospital transmission is unbearable, our experiences and lessons suggested that prompt actions should be taken immediately to decrease or eliminate potential in-hospital transmission. Experience shared herein may be useful for those facilities who are and who may engage in COVID-19. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Nonlinear isolators in the shape of a circular ring have been shown to have an advantage over linear isolators in that they allow low-frequency vibration isolation. These isolators have generally been assumed to possess linear viscous damping, which degrades the performance of the isolator at high frequencies. An alternative design is to make use of nonlinear damping, where the nonlinear behavior is achieved by placing linear dampers, so that they are orthogonal to the motion of the isolator. In this work, the performance of circular ring isolators with this type of damping is compared with the corresponding isolators exhibiting linear viscous damping only. It is found that the isolators with linear viscous damping perform better around the resonance frequencies, but the isolators with nonlinear damping perform better at high frequencies.

Manipulator systems are widely used in payload capture and movement in the ground/space operation due to their dexterous manipulation capability. In this study, a method for identifying the payload parameters of a flexible space manipulator using the estimated system of complex eigenvalue matrix is proposed. The original nonlinear dynamic model of the manipulator is linearized at a selected working point. Subsequently, the system state-space model and corresponding complex eigenvalue parameters are determined by the observer/Kalman filter identification algorithm using the torque input signal of the motor and the vibration output signals of the link. Therefore, the inertia parameters of the payload, that is, the mass and the moment of inertia, can be derived from the identified complex eigenvalue system and mode shapes by solving a least-squares problem. In numerical simulations, the proposed parameter identification method is implemented and compared with the classical recursive least-squares and affine projection sign algorithms. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively estimate the payload parameters with satisfactory accuracy.

The harmonically excited structure coupled with the nonlinear energy sink (NES) and a piezoelectric harvester is investigated. The complexification-averaging method is developed to analyze ordinary differential equations which also include one first order differential equation. Effects of varying parameters for the piezoelectric harvester on the saddle-node bifurcation and the Hopf bifurcation are explored. Analytical results of the amplitude–frequency response curves are verified by the numerical evidence. Global bifurcations for NES parameters are presented. Comparisons of periodic results for bifurcation diagrams are performed both numerically and analytically as well as their stable ranges. The integration of nonlinear vibration suppression and energy harvesting is discussed. The output voltage, power, displacement transmissibility, and average energy are calculated to explore the integration. Quasi-periodic responses near the resonance frequency contribute to effectively reducing the resonant amplitude and improving the bandwidth of energy harvesting, as well as targeted energy transfer. Results confirm that the integration of vibration suppression and piezoelectric energy harvesting can be enhanced by adjusting cubic nonlinearity.

Herein, a novel pyramid lattice sandwich structure with the active variable stiffness (AVS) is proposed, which consists of a proportion integration (PI) active controller, a piezoelectric actuator, and a variable stiffness device. The principle of AVS is to process the real-time vibration feedback signal of the lattice sandwich beam by using the PI controller and the piezoelectric actuator to change structural stiffness continuously. The structure has excellent self-adjusting and active vibration reduction effect. Based on the supersonic piston theory, Hamilton's principle, and the assumed modes method, the dynamics equations of the whole structure are established. The vibration reduction and energy dissipation of lattice sandwich beams with AVS and without AVS are analyzed by using the Runge-Kutta algorithm. Moreover, the relevant parameters of PI controller, positive stiffness, negative stiffness, incoming flow velocity, damping coefficient, and installation position are compared and analyzed, respectively. The results indicate that the novel lattice sandwich structure with AVS can achieve ideal vibration reduction effect, and the efficiency can be improved by adjusting the parameters appropriately.

A mechanical-piezoelectric system is explored to reduce vibration and to harvest energy. The system consists of a piezoelectric device and a nonlinear energy sink (NES), which is a nonlinear oscillator without linear stiffness. The NES-piezoelectric system is attached to a 2-degree-of-freedom primary system subjected to a shock load. This mechanical-piezoelectric system is investigated based on the concepts of the percentages of energy transition and energy transition measure. The strong target energy transfer occurs for some certain transient excitation amplitude and NES nonlinear stiffness. The plots of wavelet transforms are used to indicate that the nonlinear beats initiate energy transitions between the NES-piezoelectric system and the primary system in the transient vibration, and a 1:1 transient resonance capture occurs between two subsystems. The investigation demonstrates that the integrated NES-piezoelectric mechanism can reduce vibration and harvest some vibration energy.

The composite laminated plate is widely used in supersonic aircraft. So, there are many researches about the vibration suppression of composite laminated plate. In this paper, nonlinear energy sink (NES) as an effective method to suppress vibration is studied. The coupled partial differential governing equations of the composite laminated plate with the nonlinear energy sink (NES) are established by using the Hamilton principle. The fourth-order Galerkin discrete method is used to truncate the partial differential equations, which are solved by numerical integration method. Meanwhile study about the precise effectiveness of the nonlinear energy sink (NES) by discussing the different installation location of the nonlinear energy sink (NES) at the same speed. The results indicate that the nonlinear energy sink (NES) can significantly suppress the severe vibration of the composite laminated plate with speed wind loadings in to protect the composite laminated plate from excessive vibration.

In this study, a novel multifunctional nonlinear composite structure consisting of functionally graded beams and piezoelectric sheets is proposed. This structure exhibits excellent supersonic aerodynamic energy harvesting performance under heating conditions. Referring to the geometric large deformation theory, the electromechanical coupling dynamics equation of the whole structure under supersonic aerodynamic force and the thermal environment is established by Hamilton’s principle. The energy harvesting effect of piezoelectric sheets is simulated by Runge–Kutta algorithm. The correlation parameters of the length-to-fine ratio, gradient index, resistance, airflow speed, and temperature were compared and analyzed. Results show that this new multifunctional nonlinear composite structure can achieve the ideal energy harvesting effect and proper adjustment of parameters can improve the energy harvesting effect under the thermal environment. This study provides new ideas for related research on nonlinear energy harvesting under heating conditions.

Given its essential nonlinearity, nonlinear energy sink (NES) has been extensively studied as a promising vibration energy harvesting device. Internal resonance, which is due to strong energy exchange between modes, also provides a valuable idea for vibration energy harvesting. Combining these two advantages, we put forward a 3:1 internal resonance system, which consists of an NES and a coupled linear oscillator, as an enhanced method for vibration energy harvesting. The multiscale method is applied to derive the relationship between amplitude and frequency response. Simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Results show that the internal resonance system can remarkably improve the vibration energy harvesting performance. The numerical solutions verify the accuracy of the analytical solutions. The results demonstrate that the internal resonance system with NES for energy harvesting has better output power and bandwidth compared with noninternal resonance system. Overall, the comprehensive design improves the performance of NES for vibration energy harvesting.

Pancreatic head cancer is a common but the most lethal cancer of the human digestive system. It is invasive, resulting in early infiltration of adjacent structures and lymph node and distant metastases. Its biological characteristics of neurotropic growth lead to early neural invasion (NI) which is an independent prognostic factor of survival for pancreatic cancer. Radical surgical resection remains the only form of curative treatment. The extent of surgical resection and whether extended resection results in better long-term survival have been controversial. Studies have reported that peripancreatic plexus invasion is a frequent cause of pancreatic cancer recurrence and death. The relationship between cancer microenvironment and nerve cells, and whether the peripancreatic nerve plexus nearby needs to be resected require further studies. The present review aims to discuss the role of peripancreatic nerve and its implications in pancreatic head cancer resection.

This study investigates the propagation peculiarities of the flexural wave of piezoelectric functionally graded nanobeam with surface and thermal effects. The equation of the flexural wave of the piezoelectric functionally graded nanobeam was expressed using nonlocal elastic theory because of the thermal and surface effects. The phase and group velocities were derived. The dispersion relation was analyzed using different wave numbers and temperatures and scale coefficient. The dispersion degree was weakened by scale coefficient and temperature and an increase in wave numbers. Changing the scale coefficient and temperatures are two of the main approaches in investigating the propagation characteristics of piezoelectric functionally graded nanobeam with surface effects and identifying new characteristics were found.

A new multifunctional lattice sandwich structure consisting of a lattice sandwich beam, a nonlinear energy sink (NES) and a giant magnetostrictive material (GMM) is proposed in this research. This structure exhibits excellent self-vibration suppression and aeroelastic energy harvesting performance. The dynamic equations of the whole structure are established using Hamilton principle and Newton’s second law, and the Runge-Kutta algorithm is used to obtain the amplitude response of the beam coupled with NES and without NES, which can indicate the vibration control effect of NES. Moreover, the energy harvest effect of the structure with GMM is also analyzed through numerical simulation. And a comparative analysis of relevant parameters such as NES mass, spring stiffness and damping coefficient is also implemented. The results show that this new multifunctional lattice sandwich structure can achieve the desired effect of vibration suppression and energy harvesting, and proper adjustment of parameters will improve the effect. This study provides a new idea for related research on vibration control and energy harvesting.

A whole-spacecraft vibration isolation platform can improve the dynamic environment during satellite launches. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of a whole-spacecraft vibration isolation platform with uncertain parameters are investigated. The governing equation of the platform is derived and the non-probabilistic reliability theory is utilized to analyze the dynamic characteristics. Then, the numerical results are carried out and compared with the experimental data. It is found that non-probabilistic reliability theory is a powerful tool to reveal the dynamic characteristics, which may lead to a new design of the platform with enhanced security and reliability.

In this paper, the vibration suppression mechanism of a nonlinear fluid pipe via nonlinear energy sink (NES) is studied for the first time. The fluid pipe is simply supported under harmonic foundation excitation. The complexification-averaging method combined with the arc-length continuation method is used to predict the response of the system. The analytical solution is supported by the numerical result. The trend of interaction between liquid speed and NES parameters are investigated by comparison of parameters optimization. It is especially pointed out that the change of stiffness has a very complicated influence on the response. The parameters optimization is investigated at the resonance frequency. It is noted that the liquid speed has an important effect on the vibration suppression of the fluid pipe. Besides, the system is evaluated from the point of view of energy. The distribution of the input energy is calculated and the instantaneous transaction of the energy is examined by considering the energy transaction measure (ETM). The numerical simulations demonstrate that the target energy transfer (TET) leads to a very efficient vibration suppression.

In the present paper, free vibration of a rotating ring supported by an elastic foundation is studied by analytical method, finite element (FE) simulation and experiment. By adopting the ring analogy of Timoshenko beam theory, the nonlinear vibration of the rotating ring on an elastic foundation is modeled based on Hamilton’s principle. Radial and tangential deformation are considered. By solving the generalized eigenvalue problem, natural frequencies and flexural modes are obtained. Furthermore, the Euler–Bernoulli (E–B) theory is also employed to investigate the free vibration. For determining the necessity of the Timoshenko theory, the flexural vibration frequencies from two theories are compared. Specifically, the effects of the radius and the radial height (the thickness) of the ring on the difference between the two models are studied. In order to confirm the analytical results, finite element analysis and experiments on three test specimens are used to verify the natural frequency and flexural mode predictions. Overall, this work shows the necessity of the Timoshenko theory for studying free vibration of an elastic ring.

Nonlinear targeted energy transfer (TET) is applied to suppress the excessive vibration of an axially moving string with transverse wind loads. The coupling dynamic equations used are modeled by a nonlinear energy sink (NES) attached to the string to absorb vibrational energy. By a two-term Galerkin procedure, the equations are discretized, and the effects of vibration suppression by numerical methods are demonstrated. Results show that the NES can effectively suppress the vibration of the axially moving string with transverse wind loadings, thereby protecting the string from excessive movement.

The vibration active control of the composite panels with the uncertain parameters in the hypersonic flow is studied using the non-probabilistic reliability theory. Using the piezoelectric patches as active control actuators, dynamic equations of panel are established by finite element method and Hamilton’s principle. And the control model of panel with uncertain parameters is obtained. According to the non-probabilistic reliability index, and besides being based on H∞ robust control theory and non-probabilistic reliability theory, the non-probabilistic reliability performance function is given. Moreover, the relationships between the robust controller and H∞ performance index and reliability are established. Numerical results show that the control method under the influence of reliability, H∞ performance index, and approaching velocity is effective to the vibration suppression of panel in the whole interval of uncertain parameters.

This study was to investigate the effect of donor liver adenoviral cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) gene transfer on early graft survival and function in rat small-for-size liver transplantation. We constructed a recombinant murine CT-1 adenoviral vector. Donor rats were transduced in vivo with adenoviruses expressing CT-1 (AdCT-1) or control vector (AdEGFP). Livers were harvested 4 days later, reduced to 40% of weight, and transplanted. A syngeneic rat orthotopic liver transplantation model was performed using 40% small-for-size grafts. Graft survival, liver function, hepatic architecture change, the degree of necrosis and apoptosis, and cell survival signaling pathways were assessed. AdCT-1 pretreatment markedly improved liver function and the survival of small-for-size grafts. In the CT-1 treatment group, hepatic architecture was well protected, apoptotic and necrotic cells were reduced; anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2 was up-regulated and pro-apoptotic cleaved caspase-3 was down-regulated, cell survival signaling pathways were activated by phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt), extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) and Signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (Stat-3) after transplantation. In conclusion, donor liver adenoviral CT-1 transfer ameliorated ischemia/reperfusion injury by decreasing hepatic necrosis and apoptosis in small-for-size liver transplantation, mediated in part by activation of the Akt, ERK, and Stat-3 survival signaling pathways. These results may provide a potential clinical strategy to improve the outcome of small-for-size liver grafts.