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Double-sided tools system is a promising design to counteract the forces caused by tools, and has become a practical way to machine thin-walled parts with the twisted structure. However, it is still difficult to obtain uniform machining effects on the part surfaces. This paper proposes a coordinated motion planning method for coordinating two tools in the double-sided tools system. The tools are devoted to guaranteeing the uniform surface quality while meeting the constraints about tools' velocity, tools' inclination and the system structure. At first, a velocity-dependent model is presented to describe the two tools' motions along the predefined paths. Then, the motion-planning problem of two tools is formulated as a constrained velocity-optimization problem, and the genetic algorithm is proposed to achieve the optimization target of the surface uniformity. Finally, experiments are performed on a real blade in a self-developed double-sided ultrasonic surface rolling process machine tool. The results demonstrate that the proposed coordinated motion planning method can effectively improve the surface uniformity in the double-sided tools system.

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is one of the most dangerous yet most elusive embrittlement problems in metallic materials. Advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) are particularly prone to HE, as evidenced by the serious degradation of their load-bearing capacity with the presence of typically only a few parts-per-million H. This strongly impedes their further development and application and could set an abrupt halt for the weight reduction strategies pursued globally in the automotive industry. It is thus important to understand the HE mechanisms in this material class, in order to develop effective H-resistant strategies. Here, we review the related research in this field, with the purpose to highlight the recent progress, and more importantly, the current challenges toward understanding the fundamental HE mechanisms in modern AHSS. The review starts with a brief introduction of current HE models, followed by an overview of the state-of-the-art micromechanical testing techniques dedicated for HE study. Finally, the reported HE phenomena in different types of AHSS are critically reviewed. Focuses are particularly placed on two representative multiphase steels, i.e., ferrite–martensite dual-phase steels and ferrite–austenite medium-Mn steels, with the aim to highlight the multiple dimensions of complexity of HE mechanisms in complex AHSS. Based on this, open scientific questions and the critical challenges in this field are discussed to guide future research efforts.

The microstructure of the ceramic topcoat has a great influence on the service performance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). In this study, conventional layered-structure TBCs, nanostructured TBCs, and novel-structured TBCs with a unique microstructure were fabricated by air plasma spraying. The relationship between the microstructure and properties of the three different TBCs was analysed. Their thermal insulation ability, sintering resistance, and durability were systematically evaluated. Additionally, their failure modes after being subjected to two kinds of thermal shock tests were analysed. The results revealed that the novel-structured TBCs had remarkably superior performances in all the examined aspects. The thermal conductivity of the novel-structured TBCs was significantly lower than those of the conventional and nanostructured TBCs both in the as-sprayed state and after thermal treatment for 500 h at 1100 °C. The macroscopic elastic modulus of the novel-structured TBCs after sintering at 1300 °C for 100 h was similar to those of the conventional and nanostructured TBCs in the as-sprayed state. During both a burner rig thermal shock test and a furnace cyclic oxidation test, the thermal shock lifetime of the novel-structured TBCs was much longer than those of the conventional and nanostructured TBCs. This study has demonstrated novel-structured plasma-sprayed TBCs with high thermal insulation ability and high durability.

The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 is one of the most serious global threats to public health in this century. During this crisis, specialists in information science could play key roles to support the efforts of scientists in the health and medical community for combatting COVID-19. In this article, we demonstrate that information specialists can support health and medical community by applying text mining technique with latent Dirichlet allocation procedure to perform an overview of a mass of coronavirus literature. This overview presents the generic research themes of the coronavirus diseases: COVID-19, MERS and SARS, reveals the representative literature per main research theme and displays a network visualisation to explore the overlapping, similarity and difference among these themes. The overview can help the health and medical communities to extract useful information and interrelationships from coronavirus-related studies.

The production of renewable energy and chemicals from biomass can be performed sustainably using pyrolysis, but the production costs associated with biomass pyrolysis hinder its wider application. The use of renewable precursors and waste heat to fabricate high-quality functional carbon nanomaterials can considerably improve the sustainability and economic viability of this process. Here, we propose a method to maximize the economic benefits and the sustainability of biomass pyrolysis by utilizing waste pyrolysis gases and waste heat to prepare high-quality three-dimensional graphene foams (3DGFs). The resulting 3DGFs exhibit excellent performance in environmental and energy-storage applications. On the basis of a life-cycle assessment, the overall life-cycle impacts of the present synthetic route on human health, ecosystems and resources are less than those of the conventional chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. Overall, incorporating the pyrolytic route for fabricating functional carbonaceous materials into the biomass pyrolysis process improves the sustainability and economic viability of the process and can support wider commercial application of biomass pyrolysis. Biomass pyrolysis for renewable energy and chemicals offers sustainability advantages but is expensive. This study shows a route to improve both the sustainability and economic viability of biomass pyrolysis by using pyrolytic gases and waste heat to fabricate high-quality carbon nanomaterials.

Sphingomyelin synthase is responsible for the production of sphingomyelin (SGM), the second most abundant phospholipid in mammalian plasma, from ceramide, a major sphingolipid. Knowledge of the effects of cigarette smoke on SGM production is limited. In the present study, we examined the effect of chronic cigarette smoke on sphingomyelin synthase (SGMS) activity and evaluated how the deficiency of Sgms2, one of the two isoforms of mammalian SGMS, impacts pulmonary function. Sgms2-knockout and wild-type control mice were exposed to cigarette smoke for 6 months, and pulmonary function testing was performed. SGMS2-dependent signaling was investigated in these mice and in human monocyte-derived macrophages of nonsmokers and human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells isolated from healthy nonsmokers and subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Chronic cigarette smoke reduces SGMS activity and Sgms2 gene expression in mouse lungs. Sgms2-deficient mice exhibited enhanced airway and tissue resistance after chronic cigarette smoke exposure, but had similar degrees of emphysema, compared with smoke-exposed wild-type mice. Sgms2-/- mice had greater AKT phosphorylation, peribronchial collagen deposition, and protease activity in their lungs after smoke inhalation. Similarly, we identified reduced SGMS2 expression and enhanced phosphorylation of AKT and protease production in HBE cells isolated from subjects with COPD. Selective inhibition of AKT activity or overexpression of SGMS2 reduced the production of several matrix metalloproteinases in HBE cells and monocyte-derived macrophages. Our study demonstrates that smoke-regulated Sgms2 gene expression influences key COPD features in mice, including airway resistance, AKT signaling, and protease production.

When delivered across a cell, certain pulsed electric fields can cause an increase in the cell membrane permeability through a biophysical process known as electroporation. The current signals during the electric pulses could be used as a method for noninvasive electroporation measurement because of the sharp change in the conductivity of cells due to electroporation. To add to the existing knowledge on electroporation current signals under different pulse parameters, we undertook a study in which the electric current across the cells was recorded during electroporation pulses. The experimental current response to a pulsed electric field consisted of three stages: a) a rapid initial increase followed by b) an exponential decrease and then c) a monotonic increase. The rise time of the current signals was not affected by the intensity of the electric field or the number of pulses. However, the time at which the current increased again, deemed the electroporation onset time, shortened as the electric field became more intense and as the number of pulses increased. The transient conductivity change rate, defined to describe the electroporation degree during the pulse, increased under a higher electric field strength. However, the transient conductivity change rate first decreased and then gradually increased with additional pulses. This work may provide insight into the change in current during real-time electroporation detection.

Perceived interactivity is vital for enabling brand micro-blogs to build close relationships with customers and to enhance their customers’ brand perceptions. However, few studies have explored the mechanisms by which interactivity among brand micro-blog entities can affect brand resonance, which is the pinnacle of the brand-building process. Hence, this study investigates how the interactivity of brand micro-blog entities influences brand resonance and purchase intention through brand micro-blog identification. The results show that customer-perceived platform interactivity, marketer interactivity and customer interactivity all have positive effects on brand micro-blog identification, which in turn has a positive effect on brand resonance.

Security and performance of aircraft engines are extremely affected by the blades’ surface quality. Ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP) can improve material surface properties effectively and increase the alloys’ service life. However, applying USRP onto blades remains a challenge due to the free-form surface with thin-walled leading/trailing edges and the pre-load pressure on the blade during the USRP process. In this paper, a coordinated bilateral method of USRP on the blade is proposed. A machine tool is first designed and integrated with two USRP devices. A method of coordinated bilateral path generation is then proposed, so that the blade surface can be processed by the two USRP devices simultaneously. Finally, we perform experiments on a real aero-engine blade. The results demonstrate that by using the proposed method, USRP can be applied on the bilateral surfaces of the aero-engine blade coordinately.

BACKGROUND Repeated radiotherapy brings limited benefits and significant side effects for differentiated thyroid cancer patients (DTC) with radioiodine refractory (RAIR). However, the prognostic role of preoperative thyroglobulin (pre-Tg) in predicting RAIR is unclear. METHODS In the present study, data was retrospectively reviewed from 5,173 patients who underwent radiotherapy in Jiangyuan Hospital from January 2006 to December 2020. RESULTS A total of 1,102 patients with or without repeated radiotherapy was compared (repeated vs. single radiotherapy; n = 199 vs. n = 903). Pre-Tg was significantly elevated in patients with repeated radiotherapy. After the classification of RAIR (non-RAIR, n = 786 vs. RAIR, n = 90), elevated pre-Tg was also correlated with RAIR after uni- and multi-analysis. According to the receiver operating curve analysis, elevated pre-Tg well predicted RAIR (AUC = 0.76, CI: 0.71-0.82, P < 0.0001). To control the selection bias, the propensity scoring match was used. Pre-Tg level was found to be an independent predictor of RAIR (P < 0.001, HR = 7.25, CI: 2.55-20.62). CONCLUSION Our results indicates that markedly elevated pre-Tg level can be served as an independent predictor of RAIR-DTC, which can guide a more precise treatment strategy and/or an active surveillance during surgery and follow-ups.

DC circuit breakers are the important apparatus of the medium-voltage DC distribution system. In order to limit the fault current and Shorten the whole breaking time, the paper proposes a novel resistive and capacitive type current-limiting medium voltage DC circuit breaker with coupling reactor (MDCB). The primary and the second inductor $(L_{1},\ L_{2})$ of coupling reactor are connected to main branch and the high speed switch in series respectively, which is used to limit the fault current and improve the current commutation. The resistance-capacitance element is connected in series with the solid switch unit, which is used to limit the current and decrease the dissipation time of the MOV. This structure can accelerate the current commutation and limit the peak fault current. The influence of the coupling reactor and the resistance-capacitance element on the working process is analyzed and the reference of the parameters design is obtained. The model is established by the MATLAB/Simulink. The influence law of coupling reactor and resistance-capacitance element parameters on commutation time, current limiting effect, and complete shutdown time is gained. The proper parameters of the coupling reactor are as follows: the primary inductor L i is about $250\sim 300\mu H$, the second inductor L 2 is about $50\sim 100\mu H$ and the coupling coefficient k is about $0.95\sim 0.98$,When the resistance and capacitance parameters R and C are in the range of $0.1\sim 0.2\Omega$ and $ 20\sim 50\mu$F, the current commutation time is shortened from 1. 5ms to 0. 5ms, the fault current peak value is reduced by 47.1%, the entire shutdown time has been shortened by 1.9ms, and preliminary experiments have been conducted to verify the feasibility of the new topology, which provides a reference for independent research and development of high-performance medium-voltage DC circuit breakers.

The Grassland Ecological Protection Award Policy was implemented to address severe grassland degradation in China. This policy utilizes grassland subsidies as an incentive to control the number of livestock and has become the largest payment for ecosystem services program. Although many studies have analyzed the performance of this policy, it remains controversial as to whether grassland subsidies are effective at reducing the number of livestock, moreover, there is still a lack of quantitative studies on the roles of household livelihood assets and livelihood strategies in reducing the number of livestock. On the basis of the sustainable livelihood framework, this paper constructed an analytical framework to research how grassland subsidies affect the number of livestock under the effects of different livelihood capitals and local socioecological contexts. After choosing the Pumqu River Basin of the Tibetan Plateau as the research area, this study classified sample households on the basis of grassland sizes and then examined the effects of grassland subsidies on the number of livestock of different groups of rural households by considering livelihood capital. The results showed that (1) for all the sample households, grassland subsidies caused herdsmen to raise more livestock, which was contrary to the expectation of the grassland protection policy. The invalidation of grassland subsidies was mainly caused by the poor design and implementation of the policy at the local level. (2) In addition, for rural households with different grassland sizes, the subsidies could be effective in reducing the number of livestock for households with small grassland sizes while increasing the number of livestock for households with large grassland sizes. This indicates that some supporting policies and measures for households with smaller grassland sizes should be provided to stimulate the reduction in the number of livestock, and for households with large grassland areas, grassland circulation should be encouraged to promote the large-scale production of livestock husbandry. The finding of this study can help governments to formulate policies tailored towards appropriate subsidies for addressing grassland degradation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To investigate the effect of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor on subclasses of HDL in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or diabetes. CETP inhibitor-mediated a dramatic induction of HDL-cholesterol has no effect on the protection of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the mechanism is still unknown. Data on the effects of this class of drugs on subclasses of HDL are either limited or insufficient. METHODS: Baseline and 3-month post-treatment samples from the atorvastatin 40 mg plus evacetrapib 130 mg (n=70) and atorvastatin 40 mg plus placebo (n=30) arms were utilized for this purpose. Four subclasses of HDL (large HDL1, medium HDL2, small HDL3, and Preβ-1 HDL) were separated according to their size and quantified by densitometry using a recently developed native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) system. RESULTS: Relative to placebo, while evacetrapib treatment dramatically increased HDL1 and HDL2 subclasses, it significantly reduced small dense HDL3 (27%) as well as Preβ-1 HDL (36%) particles. Evacetrapib treatment reduced total LDL, but also resulted in polydisperse LDL with LDL particles larger and smaller than the LDL subclasses of the placebo group. CONCLUSION: Evacetrapib reduced Preβ-1 HDL and small dense HDL3 in patients with ASCVD or diabetes on statin. Preβ-1 HDL and HDL2 are negatively interrelated. The results could give a clue to understand the effect of CETP inhibitors on cardiovascular outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02227784.

In this work, a dislocation-based crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) framework was implemented to investigate the effects of loading conditions on dwell-fatigue crack initiation life. Experimentally, a large number of strain-controlled dwell-fatigue tests were carried out at 650 ℃ in a nickel-based superalloy. The combinations of CPFE simulations and post-test examinations were used to reveal the dwell-fatigue crack initiation mechanisms. Then, a life prediction approach was presented on the basis of accumulated energy dissipation at half-life cycle. Good agreement between the experimental and simulated lives verifies the robustness as well as the accuracy of the present approach. Finally, a new three-dimensional (3-D) damage tolerance diagram was proposed by introducing a CP-based physical parameter to describe the degradation levels and evaluate the residual dwell-fatigue life.

Introduction Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that CD14 rs2569190 C>T polymorphism plays an important role in ischemic stroke (IS) risk, but the results were inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the association between CD14 rs2569190 C>T polymorphism and IS susceptibility. Methods Online databases were searched from inception up to July 1, 2018, for studies concerning CD14 rs2569190 C>T polymorphism and its association with IS susceptibility. ORs and corresponding 95% CIs were calculated in the genetic models of each polymorphism locus with Stata Version 14.0. Furthermore, heterogeneity, meta-regression, accumulative analyses, sensitivity analyses, and publication bias were examined. Results Overall, 10 observed studies involving 5,277 subjects were included in this meta-analysis on CD14 rs2569190 C>T polymorphism. Generally, no significant associations were found between CD14 rs2569190 C>T polymorphism and IS risk (allele contrast of T vs C: OR =1.03, 95% CI =0.96-1.12, P=0.41, I2=27.8%; co-dominant models of CT vs CC: OR =1.01, 95% CI =0.81-1.25, P=0.95, I2=51.9%; co-dominant models of TT vs CC: OR =1.04, 95% CI =0.89-1.22, P=0.62, I2=25.1%; dominant model of CT + TT vs CC: OR =1.02, 95% CI =0.84-1.25, P=0.82, I2=51.4%; recessive model of TT vs CC + CT: OR =1.07, 95% CI =0.95-1.22, P=0.28, I2=0%), similar to the results in the subgroup analysis. Conclusion The current evidence indicated that CD14 rs2569190 C>T polymorphism was not a critical risk factor for IS development.

Background and aims Atherosclerosis progression and regression studies are related to its prevention and treatment. Although we have gained extensive knowledge on germline phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) deficiency, the effect of inducible PLTP deficiency in atherosclerosis remains unexplored. Methods We generated inducible PLTP (iPLTP)-knockout (KO) mice and measured their plasma lipid levels after feeding a normal chow or a Western-type diet. Adenovirus associated virus-proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (AAV-PCSK9) was used to induce hypercholesterolemia in the mice. Collars were placed around the common carotid arteries, and atherosclerosis progression and regression in the carotid arteries and aortic roots were evaluated. Results On a normal chow diet, iPLTP-KO mice exhibited decreased cholesterol, phospholipid, apoA-I, and apoB levels compared with control mice. Furthermore, the overall amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles was reduced in these mice, but this effect was more profound for larger HDL particles. On a Western-type diet, iPLTP-KO mice again exhibited reduced levels of all tested lipids, even though the basal lipid levels were increased. Additionally, these mice displayed significantly reduced atherosclerotic plaque sizes with increased plaque stability. Importantly, inducible PLTP deficiency significantly ameliorated atherosclerosis by reducing the size of established plaques and the number of macrophages in the plaques without causing lipid accumulation in the liver. Conclusions Induced PLTP deficiency in adult mice reduces plasma total cholesterol and triglycerides, prevents atherosclerosis progression, and promotes atherosclerosis regression. Thus, PLTP inhibition is a promising therapeutic approach for atherosclerosis.

Cropland expansion has become a prominent feature in developing countries and regions. A comprehensive clarification of the causes of cropland expansion is conducive to the adoption of appropriate actions to intervene and adapt to climate change, support rational land use, and balance ecosystem services. Using the Pumqu River Basin (PRB) in the Tibetan Plateau as the study area, we constructed a conceptual model that emphasizes the role of households and explored the causes of cropland expansion based on field survey data. Our results indicate that households’ perception of climate change, families’ non-agricultural income, the numbers of agricultural labor force, and the population pressure faced were the causes of cropland expansion in the PRB. Based on these findings, corresponding policy recommendations to limit the spontaneous cropland expansion behaviors of local households and reduce the ecological loss caused by cropland expansion are proposed.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP), a member of lipid transfer protein family, is an important protein involved in lipid metabolism in the circulation. This article reviews recent PLTP research progresses, involving lipoprotein metabolism and atherogenesis. RECENT FINDINGS: PLTP activity influence atherogenic and anti-atherogenic lipoprotein levels. Human serum PLTP activity is a risk factor for human cardiovascular disease and is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. PLTP deficiency reduces VLDL and LDL levels and attenuates atherosclerosis in mouse models, while PLTP overexpression exerts an opposite effect. Both PLTP deficiency and overexpression result in reduction of HDL which has different size, inflammatory index, and lipid composition. Moreover, although both PLTP deficiency and overexpression reduce cholesterol efflux capacity, but this effect has no impact in macrophage reverse cholesterol transport in mice. Furthermore, PLTP activity is related with metabolic syndrome, thrombosis, and inflammation. SUMMARY: PLTP could be target for the treatment of dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis, although some potential off-target effects should be noted.

The community home-based care service, which refers to integrating the service resources around the community to provide elderly care service in the community, has become one of the dominant elderly service models. The effective integration of various resources around the community at the infancy stage of community home-based care service has a significant impact on the operation costs of elderly services institutions. However, the suitability of resource integration is highly dependent on the service demands for the elderly in community. Thus, obtaining accurate service demands for the elderly is very important in the development of the community home-based care service. In this paper, we focus on exploring the service demands of the elderly. First, we conduct a structured questionnaire survey of 2200 elderly in Fangshan District, Beijing, and collect the elderly’s demographic information and their community home-based care service demands. Second, we establish a service demand model, which presents the relationship between demographic information and the demands of community home-based care service, by using a business intelligence technique—decision tree to analyze the data. The result shows different demographic characteristics jointly affect the elderly’s community home-based care service demands and concludes the demand feature of three particular types of community home-based care services: door to door service, community medical service, and community non-medical service. This study illustrates that through the analysis of the elderly’s demographic data, we can effectively obtain the service demands for the elderly, and thus can more effectively integrate resources and improve the development efficiency of the community home-based care industry. This study also expands the research on elderly service by establishing a service demand model.

In modern communication systems, optical fiber transmission is widely used because of its low power consumption and wide frequency band. At the same time, by using the SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) module, the video transmission system will quickly build. Therefore, this paper uses the FPGA-integrated GTX (Gigabyte Transceiver) serial high-speed transceiver as the transmission and forwarding medium. The image is captured through the camera, then transmitted by the GTX transceiver and SPF fiber interface, and finally the video image is displayed by the HDMI interface. By the analysis of Vivado, the requirements of timing and layout that could be met.

A kind of SiGe heterojunction phototransistor with gradual coupled ridge waveguide based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI SiGe GRC HPT) is designed and optimized to improve its optical responsivity and working speed. When the width and length of the ridge waveguide are optimized as 3um and 20um separately, the ridge waveguide based on SOI provide the same limitation for TE mode and TM mode and the suitable propagation path for incident light. The maximum characteristic frequency of SOI SiGe GRC HPT is 102GHz, its saturation current is 20mA and its optical responsivity is 0.5 A/W.

In this paper, a dual-scale modelling approach is developed to investigate creep-fatigue behavior and predict crack initiation life for holed structures under multi-axial stress state. The macro-scale simulation supplies local deformation histories to the dual-scale simulation as boundary conditions. In the dual-scale simulation process, the micro-mechanical behavior and damage evolution are described by using crystal plasticity. In order to validate the dual-scale simulation procedures, a series of creep-fatigue tests as well as the post-test characterizations were carried out for nickel-based Inconel 718 at 650 ℃. The detailed results of macro- and micro-scale simulations are presented in terms of stress–strain behavior, damage evolution and life prediction. Regarding the macro-scale simulations as the benchmark, it may provide an assistant support and precognition for the micro-scale damage calculation at higher cycles. The predicted cycle numbers to crack initiation are in agreement with the experimental ones. More advantages are manifested in the potential scientific and engineering significance for the dual-scale modelling approach.

In botanical image processing, it is challenging to identify roots automatically since roots occupy only a very small part of the image and their colors are similar to those of soil. To address this, we apply three strategies. First, to fit the characteristics of roots, many ridge-like filters are applied. Second, the machine learning method of the support vector machine is applied and the boost mechanism is adopted. Also, morphology is adopted to avoid applying the pixels in the border as the training data. With these techniques, the roots with a variety of colors and widths can be accurately extracted.

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) causes novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). Given that approved drug repurposing becomes a common strategy to quickly find antiviral treatments, a collection of FDA-approved drugs can be powerful resources for new anti-NCP indication discoveries. In addition to synthetic compounds, Chinese Patent Drugs (CPD), also play a key role in the treatment of virus related infections diseases in China. Here we compiled major components from 38 CPDs that are commonly used in the respiratory diseases and docked them against two drug targets, ACE2 receptor and viral main protease. According to our docking screening, 10 antiviral components, including hesperidin, saikosaponin A, rutin, corosolic acid, verbascoside, baicalin, glycyrrhizin, mulberroside A, cynaroside, and bilirubin, can directly bind to both host cell target ACE2 receptor and viral target main protease. In combination of the docking results, the natural abundance of the substances, and botanical knowledge, we proposed that artemisinin, rutin, glycyrrhizin, cholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, puerarin, oleanic acid, andrographolide, matrine, codeine, morphine, chlorogenic acid, and baicalin (or Yinhuang Injection containing chlorogenic acid and baicalin) might be of value for clinical trials during a 2019-nCov outbreak.

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) causes novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). Given that approved drug repurposing becomes a common strategy to quickly find antiviral treatments, a collection of FDA-approved drugs can be powerful resources for new anti-NCP indication discoveries. In addition to synthetic compounds, Chinese Patent Drugs (CPD), also play a key role in the treatment of virus related infections diseases in China. Here we compiled major components from 38 CPDs that are commonly used in the respiratory diseases and docked them against two drug targets, ACE2 receptor and viral main protease. According to our docking screening, 10 antiviral components, including hesperidin, saikosaponin, rutin, baicalin, glycyrrhizin, mulberroside A, puerarin, orientin, amygdalin, and ilexgenin A, can directly bind to both host cell target ACE2 receptor and viral target main protease, indicating their potential for 2019-nCoV treatment.

How to find the cable fault point quickly and accurately and restore the power supply as soon as possible has become a difficult problem for power supply enterprises. Therefore, a fault detection method based on SSTDR is designed in this paper. The principle of SSTDR technology is analyzed. Based on the distance measurement of signal, the PN code is modulated by cosine signal, which makes the test signal have the white noise characteristic of mean value 0, and has stronger anti-interference ability. It can detect the fault point of low-voltage cable under the condition of low SNR. In the simulation experiment, the fault problems of the low-voltage cable in open and short circuit are detected respectively, which verifies the effectiveness of the SSTDR technology and makes a contribution to the safe use of the low-voltage cable(Abstract).

This thematic issue on advanced simulation tools applied to materials development and design predictions gathers selected extended papers related to power generation systems, presented at the XIX International Colloquium on Mechanical Fatigue of Metals (ICMFM XIX) organized at University of Porto, Portugal, in 2018. Guest editors express special thanks to all contributors for the success of this special issue—authors, reviewers, and journal staff.

Septic shock is a critical clinical condition with a high mortality rate. Previous observations have suggested that circulating complement C3 fragments, released during septic shock, might contribute to the development of complications such as profound hypotension and disseminated intravascular coagulation, resulting in a more severe disease course and a poorer outcome. However, there are conflicting reports regarding the role of C3 in the course of septic shock. Because circulating C3 exists in different sizes through enzymatic processing or spontaneous hydrolysis, these previous studies, which used ELISA-based methods, would not have distinguished among different C3 species. We have used Western blotting, with its associated protein size differentiation feature, to investigate the forms of circulating C3 in two cohorts of septic shock patients: a discovery cohort of 24 patents and a validation cohort of 181 patients. In both cohorts there were significantly lower levels of the C3-alpha chain in non-survivors than in survivors. In addition, the levels of the C3-alpha chain significantly correlated with days of survival. ROC and AUC analyses showed an AUC=0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56–0.75). At a best cutoff value (Youden) of 970.6 mg/ml, the test demonstrated a sensitivity of 68.5% and specificity of 61.5%. At this cutoff point, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with lower levels of C3-alpha chain had significantly lower survival than those with higher levels (p < 0.001). Thus, circulating C3-alpha chain levels in septic shock patients may predict survival rates.

This paper was concerned with an approach to predict fatigue life based on a multi-scale crack propagation model. The expressions of crack propagation rates in microstructurally small crack (MSC), physically small crack (PSC) and long crack (LC) stages were unified in the multi-scale crack propagation model. Its integral form presented a fatigue life prediction approach. The nickel-based GH4169 alloy was employed to validate the prediction capacity of present approach. The prediction results of lives of specimens with different initial defects sizes were compared with the experimental data.

Background Inflammation is recognized as an important contributor of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage after ischemic stroke. Sphingomyelin synthase 2 ( SMS 2), the key enzyme for the biosynthesis of sphingomyelin, can function as a critical mediator of inflammation. In the present study, we investigated the role of SMS 2 in a mouse model of cerebral I/R. Methods and Results Cerebral I/R was induced by 60‐minute transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in SMS 2 knockout ( SMS 2 ‐/‐ ) mice and wild‐type mice. Brain injury was determined by neurological deficits and infarct volume at 24 and 72 hours after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Microglia activation and inflammatory factors were detected by immunofluorescence staining, flow cytometry, western blot, and RT ‐ PCR . SMS 2 deficiency significantly improved neurological function and minimized infarct volume at 72 hours after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. The neuroprotective effects of SMS 2 deficiency were associated with (1) suppression of microglia activation through Toll‐like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa‐light‐chain‐enhancer of activated B cells pathway and (2) downregulation of the level of galactin‐3 and other proinflammatory cytokines. The mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of SMS 2 deficiency may include altering sphingomyelin components in lipid raft fractions, thus impairing the recruitment of Toll‐like receptor 4 to lipid rafts and subsequently reducing Toll‐like receptor 4/myeloid differentiation factor 2 complex formation on the surface of microglia. Conclusions SMS 2 deficiency ameliorated inflammatory injury after cerebral I/R in mice, and SMS 2 may be a key modulator of Toll‐like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa‐light‐chain‐enhancer of activated B cells activation by disturbing the membrane component homeostasis during cerebral I/R.

Objective To implement a psychological intervention programme and explore its effects on anxiety and depression in patients with severe urinary incontinence following radical prostatectomy. Methods This pilot randomized controlled trial recruited patients that underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Patients were randomized to conventional nursing and psychoeducation groups. The primary outcome was the levels of anxiety and depression evaluated by the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) at 3 months after urinary catheter removal. The quality of life (secondary outcome) was evaluated using the incontinence-specific quality of life scale (I-QOL). Results The study analysed 35 patients: 16 received conventional nursing and 19 received a psychoeducational intervention. There were no significant differences in the sociodemographic data and SAS, SDS and I-QOL scores between the two groups at baseline. At 3 months after catheter removal, the SAS and SDS scores in the psychoeducation group were significantly lower compared with the conventional nursing group; and the I-QOL score in the psychoeducation group was significantly higher compared with the conventional nursing group. Conclusion This pilot study suggests that the psychological nursing intervention improved the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improved quality of life, in patients with severe urinary incontinence following radical prostatectomy.

In the present study, a computational-experimental framework is developed for fatigue reliability assessment of turbine bladed disks. Within the framework, the overspeed testing is innovatively combined with stochastic finite element (FE) analysis for quantifying uncertainties in the experimental data, material properties and loads. Meanwhile, two schemes are elaborated based on probabilistic S-N curves and stochastic FE simulation coupling with sampling technique. The stochastic FE simulation incorporates the Chaboche constitutive model with Fatemi–Socie criterion for fatigue behavior modeling and life prediction. Moreover, experimental deformation and numerical FE analysis are conducted with regard to the full-scale bladed disk test with increased step-stress overloading. Reliability sensitivity analysis is performed to provide an importance ranking of random variables for fatigue design of the bladed disk. Results indicate that stochastic FE analysis-based scheme provides more conservative predictions than the probabilistic S-N curves-based one.

The existing mobility strategy of the anchor node in wireless sensor network (WSN) has the shortcomings of too long moving path and low locating accuracy when the anchor node traverses the network voids area. A new mobility strategy of WSN anchor node is proposed based on an improved virtual forces model. The number of neighbor nodes and the distance between the neighbor nodes to the anchor nodes are introduced as their own dense weight attributes. The unknown nodes intensity is used as weights to improve the traditional virtual force model. Using the number of messages received by the unknown node as the parameters to calculate the virtual force from the unknown node to the anchor node. Then according to the virtual force, choose the direction and move the anchor nodes. Simulation experiments show that the algorithm can make the anchor nodes move according to the specific circumstances of unknown node distribution. It has a high locating accuracy and strong adaptability. It can successfully shorten the path of the anchor node movement. Moreover it can effectively avoid the anchor node to enter the network voids area and reduce the number of collinear virtual anchor nodes.

The paper investigates the influence of the pulsed AMF arc control on the vacuum arc and the post arc characteristic to reveal the mechanism of AMF arc control in different control time and find the proper AMF arc control. The pulsed AMF control system is designed and the pulse width is adjusted from 1.5 ms to 10 ms by changing the capacitors. The test circuit is set up in the synthetic test circuit and the test vacuum interrupter (VI) is transparent in order to observe the development of the vacuum arc by the high speed CMOS camera. The rated voltage and current of the test VI is 10 kV and 25 kA respectively. The post arc current of the test VI is measured in order to analyze the post arc characteristic, such as the post arc charge, post arc conductance and dynamic dielectric strength. The development of vacuum arc and the post arc characteristic influenced by the pulse width, magnitude and control time of the pulsed AMF is obtained, which is useful to special magnetic contacts design.

To evaluate the role of ghrelin in cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction (MI) and to investigate the underlying mechanisms of ghrelin-regulated Nrf2/NADPH/ROS pathway-mediated cardioprotection, the profile of Nrf2, fibrosis markers, and oxidative stress markers were characterized in a rat model of MI and Angiotensin II (Ang II)-stimulated cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). The effects of ghrelin on cardiac function, fibrosis and oxidative stress were investigated after MI in vivo. The role of ghrelin in CF migration and proliferation was evaluated in Ang II-stimulated CFs in vitro. Inhibition of ghrelin receptors using the antagonist, d-Lys3-GHRP-6, in addition to ghrelin was employed in MI and CFs to investigate the direct effect of ghrelin on cardiac fibrosis. Loss function of Nrf2 in CFs was performed to investigate the effect of ghrelin-regulated Nrf2 on oxidative stress and cardiac fibrosis. Ghrelin improved the post-MI cardiac function and reduced cardiac fibrosis. This phenotype is associated with the upregulation of Nrf2 and downregulation of fibrotic proteins, NADPH oxidase and ROS production. In line with in vivo findings, ghrelin attenuated Ang II-stimulated CF migration, proliferation, and oxidative stress in vitro. Inhibition of the ghrelin receptor or knockdown of Nrf2 abolished the beneficial effects of ghrelin on MI or Ang II-stimulated cardiac fibroblasts. In conclusion, ghrelin ameliorates post-MI and Ang II-induced cardiac fibrosis by activating Nrf2, which in turn inhibits the NADPH/ROS pathway.

Creep crack growth behavior of the 9Cr-1Mo steel under multi-axial stress state at 600 °C was investigated by a modified creep damage model. Firstly, a modified creep damage model was proposed and incorporated into the finite element software ABAQUS by the CREEP subroutine. And then the creep and damage behaviors of the 9Cr-1Mo steel were simulated by the notched bar and CT specimen. The results indicate that the multi-axial creep ductility and the life of the high temperature components calculated by the modified model are corresponding well with the experimental data, and the life prediction precision has been greatly improved compared to that from the K-R model. This demonstrates that the proposed model can be used to accurately predict the creep crack growth behaviors of the high temperature materials. The creep crack growth rate a presents a linear relationship with the crack driving force parameter C* in log-log coordinate system. Based on the established relationship between the a and C*, the creep crack growth rate of the 9Cr-1Mo steel components working at high temperatures can be predicted.

The aim of the present work is to propose a generalized strain energy density exhaustion model to predict the creep-fatigue lives. The oxidation damage, which is described by a correction factor representing the non-linear oxidation damage mechanism, is considered in the proposed model. All the 77 experimental data sets of GH4169 superalloy at 650 °C, Inconel 738 superalloy at 850 °C and P91 steel at 550 °C in both tension-hold-only and compression-hold-only tests are used to validate the prediction capabilities of the model. The fatigue, creep and oxidation damages per cycle are separately calculated. Then a three-dimensional damage interaction diagram combined with a suitable enveloping surface is proposed.

This paper investigates the dynamic dielectric recovery synergy (DDRS) of hybrid circuit breakers (HCBs) with CO2 gas and vacuum gaps in series. The interaction between the vacuum arc and CO2 gas arc is simulated by the continuous transient arc model and Mayr arc model. The simulation results indicate that the extra methods, for example, dividing capacitors, are needed to obtain optimal DDRS of HCB. The prototype of HCB and the test circuit are established. The influence of the coordination of arcing time, dividing capacitors, and the CO2 gas pressures on the transient recovery voltage (TRV) distribution and the breaking capacity is investigated. The differences of HCBs with SF6 gas and CO2 gas are also compared. According to the results, favorable DDRS in HCB can be obtained in the condition that the vacuum gap endures the initial TRV while the following major TRV distribution is mainly depended on the dynamic dielectric in CO2 gas gap. However, the dynamic dielectric recovery of CO2 gas gap is limited by the structure of rotating arc CO2 gas interrupter in this paper. In the future, the interruption capacity of HCB based on CO2 gas can be improved by synergy control, as the development of CO2 gas circuit breakers.

Multiple cracks are frequently detected in structural components and should be assessed aimed to judge whether they can be treated as individual cracks or be combined to a larger crack. To study the ductile failure and crack interaction behavior, tensile tests using flat plates with two through-wall cracks were conducted, and 3D digital image correlation method (3D-DIC) was applied to acquire the displacement and full-field strain measurement. A damage evolution model integrated with a non-monotonic fracture strain locus was implemented to model the ductile fracture and crack interaction. Simulation results including load-displacement curves and predicted crack coalescence results fit well to the experiment data. Effects of mesh size and cut-off value of stress on the simulation results were investigated to ensure the accuracy of finite element analysis. The findings show that FE predictions using non-monotonic fracture strain locus are not only superior to those using monotonic ones, but also more accurate than alignment and combination rules in fitness-for-service codes.

Effectively exploring the impact of urban expansion on ecosystem health has become a hot topic for sustainable development of cities. However, analyzing the relationship between urban expansion and ecosystem health from a multi-perspective view is relatively rare. Here, taking 438 cities in Southwest China as the study area, we attempted to quantify the relationship between urban expansion and ecosystem health, taking into account population density, economic structure, urban area size, and geological environment. First, the urban ecosystem health was assessed based on the vigor-organization-resilience-services framework. Second, we quantified urban expansion from three aspects: the intensity of expansion, growth modes and urban forms. Finally, the panel data analysis was used to focus on which aspects of urban expansion effect on ecosystem health. The result showed that when the intensity of urban expansion increased and the growth mode changed from edge-expansion type to outlying type, the ecosystem health experienced a significant decline. In addition, there was significant negative correlation between urban size and ecosystem health within all types of cities, except for the mega-scale cities (>100 km2). A regular and aggregated urban form was benefit for ecosystem health at the medium-sized (100–500 person·km−2) and large-sized cities (500–1000 person·km−2). Moreover, urban form complex had a significant negative impact on ecosystem health in industry cities (secondary industry accounts for more than 50%) than in the service cities (tertiary industry accounts for more than 50%). The ecosystem health of karst cities was more sensitive to the fragmentation of urban core than non-karst cities. These findings will help to further understand the influence mechanism of urban expansion on ecosystem health under different scenarios and could provide a scientific basis for formulating reasonable urban planning.

The purposes of the present work are to extend the previous energy-based model on the basis of strain energy density exhaustion and to estimate creep-fatigue endurance and accumulated damage using cycle-by-cycle concept in tension-hold-only tests. The nickel-based GH4169 superalloy at 650 °C is employed to fit material constants and to verify the prediction capacity of the present model under various loading conditions. The present model exhibits a higher accuracy than some existing models, especially for certain loading waveforms, where the half-life cycle cannot be considered as a representative one. In addition, the trajectory for time-dependent accumulated damage during the operating period can be monitored in the creep-fatigue interaction diagram.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the systemic importance of industry in the world economic system under the system-wide event – the crisis of 2008-2009, by viewing this system as a weighted directed network of interconnected industries. Design/methodology/approach First, the authors investigate this crisis at three different levels based on network-related indicators: the “macro” global level, the “meso” country level, and the “micro” industry level. This investigation not only provides evidence for the systemic influence, that is, systemic risk, of the crisis, but also reveals the contagion mechanism of the crisis, which supports the stress testing. Second, the authors use a network-related business intelligence algorithm, the combined hyperlink-induced topic search (HITS) algorithm, to measure the contribution of a given individual industry to the overall risk of the economic system or, in other words, the systemic importance of the individual industry. Findings The HITS algorithm considers both the market information and the interconnectedness of the industries. Based on the stress testing, the performance of the combined HITS is compared with the purely market-based systemic risk measurement. The results show that the combined HITS outperforms the baseline in finding the top N systemically important industries. Practical implications The combined HITS algorithm provides a novel network-based perspective of systemic risk measurement. Originality/value Measuring the systemic importance based on the combined HITS algorithm can help managers and regulators design effective risk management policies. In this respect, the work initiates a research direction of studying the systemic risk in a business system based on a network-related business intelligence algorithm because the business system can be viewed as an interconnected network.

Thioredoxin reductase 1 (TXNRD1) which is a selenocysteine-containing protein is overexpressed in many malignancies. Its role in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis has not been investigated. In this study, we investigated whether TXNRD1 functions as an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients. We found TXNRD1 was overexpressed in HCC tissues and cells, immunohistochemical analysis suggested TXNRD1 was elevated in 57 of 120 (47.5%) clinical samples, and its level was increased with the increasing clinical stage. In addition, TXNRD1 expression was positively correlated with clinical stage (p=3.5e-5), N classification (p=4.4e-4), and M classification (p=0.037) of HCC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with high TXNRD1 expression had significantly shorter survival time than patients with low TXNRD1 expression. Multivariate analysis found TXNRD1 was an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients. In conclusion, our data suggested that TXNRD1 was a biomarker for the prognosis of patients with HCC.

// Xin Cheng 1, * , Yong-Qiang Liu 1, * , Gui-Zhen Wang 1, * , Li-Na Yang 2, * , Yong-Zhi Lu 3 , Xin-Chun Li 1 , Bo Zhou 1 , Li-Wei Qu 1 , Xiao-Lu Wang 1 , Yong-Xian Cheng 4 , Jinsong Liu 3 , Sheng-Ce Tao 2 , Guang-Biao Zhou 1 1 Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis and Targeted Therapy for Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China 2 Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China 3 Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China 4 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Guang-Biao Zhou, email: gbzhou@ioz.ac.cn Sheng-Ce Tao, email: taosc@sjtu.edu.cn Keywords: proteome microarray, 6-O-angeloylplenolin, STAT3 inhibitor, Skp2, lung cancer Received: July 25, 2016 Accepted: October 14, 2016 Published: November 7, 2016 ABSTRACT The S phase kinase-associated protein 1 (Skp1), an adaptor protein of the Skp1-Cul1-F-box protein complex, binds the ubiquitin E3 ligase Skp2 and is critical to its biological functions. Targeting of Skp1 by a small compound 6-O-angeloylplenolin (6-OAP) results in dissociation and degradation of Skp2 and mitotic arrest of lung cancer cells. Here, by using a proteome microarray containing 16,368 proteins and a biotinylated 6-OAP, we identified 99 proteins that could bind 6-OAP, with Skp1 and STAT3 sitting at the central position of the 6-OAP interactome. 6-OAP formed hydrogen bonds with Ser611/Ser613/Arg609 at the SH2 domain of STAT3 and inhibited the constitutive and interleukin-6-induced phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3), leading to inhibitory effects on lung cancer cells and suppression of Skp2 transcription. STAT3 was overexpressed in tumor samples compared to counterpart normal lung tissues and was inversely associated with prognosis of the patients. 6-OAP inhibited tumor growth in SCID mice intravenously injected with lung cancer cells, and downregulated both STAT3 and Skp2 in tumor samples. Given that 6-OAP is a Skp1 inhibitor, our data suggest that this compound may target Skp1 and STAT3 to suppress Skp2, augmenting its anti-lung cancer activity.

Obstructive nephropathy is the end result of a variety of diseases that block drainage from the kidney(s). Transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1)/Smad3‐driven renal fibrosis is the common pathogenesis of obstructive nephropathy. In this study, we identified petchiether A (petA), a novel small‐molecule meroterpenoid from Ganoderma, as a potential inhibitor of TGF‐β1‐induced Smad3 phosphorylation. The obstructive nephropathy was induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in mice. Mice received an intraperitoneal injection of petA/vehicle before and after UUO or sham operation. An in vivo study revealed that petA protected against renal inflammation and fibrosis by reducing the infiltration of macrophages, inhibiting the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin‐1β and tumour necrosis factor‐α) and reducing extracellular matrix deposition (α‐smooth muscle actin, collagen I and fibronectin) in the obstructed kidney of UUO mice; these changes were associated with suppression of Smad3 and NF‐κB p65 phosphorylation. Petchiether A inhibited Smad3 phosphorylation in vitro and down‐regulated the expression of the fibrotic marker collagen I in TGF‐β1‐treated renal epithelial cells. Further, we found that petA dose‐dependently suppressed Smad3‐responsive promoter activity, indicating that petA inhibits gene expression downstream of the TGF‐β/Smad3 signalling pathway. In conclusion, our findings suggest that petA protects against renal inflammation and fibrosis by selectively inhibiting TGF‐β/Smad3 signalling.

Nickel based superalloys are used extensively in the hot sections of gas turbines in the aerospace and power generation industries. Some of them are submitted to fatigue circumstances, which may restrict their service lives. Moreover, almost all the structural components have defects. In the past years, the disasters caused by fatigue have aroused consensus. And the safety life design methods have been widely used in the service time design for structures under fatigue load. However, most of those design methods considered the structures were integrated with no defects such as cavities and micro-cracks. While the cracks would initiate and propagate from these defects, which might limit the fatigue life largely. Therefore, a profound understanding of the notch effect on fatigue progress is necessary to build models which can assess the failure period of components in these harsh operating conditions. This paper will discuss notch size effect on fatigue progress in nickel-based superalloys.

The surface quality of blades affects the performance and security of aircraft engines. Ultrasonic surface rolling process (USRP) can be used to improve service life of alloys. However, blades with complex design specifications are difficult to processing, especially the thin-walled leading/trailing edge should bear the loads during the process of ultrasonic rolling. Therefore, it's still a challenge to apply USRP for the surface strengthening of blades. In this paper, an integrated system that combines USRP and a multi-axis machine tool is presented to improve the surface quality of blades. Further, the control of the machine tool is reasonably designed. Finally, the proposed method is validated by an experiment on a real blade. This proves that the system can be effectively used for automated strengthening of aircraft blades.

Although upregulation of endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling may be used to treat blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown caused by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, no agents based on this mechanism are available clinically. Lithium, a medication used for treating bipolar mood disorders, upregulates Wnt/β-catenin signaling, but whether lithium alleviates BBB breakdown after ischemic stroke by upregulating endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling is unclear. Here, we evaluated the BBB-protective effect of lithium in adult mice with 1-h middle cerebral artery occlusion and 48-h reperfusion (MCAO/R) by determining neurological outcomes, BBB function and related molecular components. Furthermore, we assessed the effect and dependence of lithium on Wnt/β-catenin signaling in brain microvascular endothelial cells in cell culture and in mice with conditional endothelial knockout of Wnt7 co-receptor Gpr124. Our data show that lithium treatment (3 mmol/kg) significantly decreased infarct volume (34.1 ± 1.8% versus 58.3 ± 2.8% in vehicle controls, P 0.0001) and improved neurological outcomes of mice following MCAO/R. Importantly, lithium significantly increased BBB integrity shown by reduction of Evans blue leakage (by 45.7%, P = 0.0064) and blood IgG extravasation (by 65.8%, P 0.0001) into infarcted brain tissue. Mechanistically, lithium upregulated the activity of endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling in vivo and in vitro, increased the protein levels of tight junctions (Claudin-5 and ZO-1), and reduced MMP-9 expression. Furthermore, the protective effect of lithium on cerebral damage and BBB integrity was abolished in endothelial Gpr124 knockout mice, indicating the protection of lithium on BBB was mainly dependent on the Gpr124-mediated endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Taken together, our findings indicate that lithium may serve as a therapeutic candidate for treating the BBB breakdown in the early stage of ischemic stroke following reperfusion therapy.