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Online state-of-charge (SOC) estimation for lithium-ion batteries is one of the most important tasks of the battery management system in ensuring its operation safety and reliability. Due to the advantages of learning the long-term dependencies in between the sequential data, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) have been developed and have shown their superiority over SOC estimation. However, only time-series measurements (e.g., voltage and current) are taken as inputs in these RNNs. Considering that the mapping relationship between the SOC and the time-series measurements evolves along with the battery degradation, there still remains a challenge for RNNs to estimate the SOC accurately throughout the battery’s lifetime. In this paper, a dual-input neural network combining gated recurring unit (GRU) layers and fully connected layers (acronymized as a DIGF network) is developed to overcome the above-mentioned challenge. Its most important characteristic is the adoption of the state of health (SOH) of the battery as the network input, in addition to time-series measurements. According to the experimental data from a batch of LiCoO2 batteries, it is validated that the proposed DIGF network is capable of providing more accurate SOC estimations throughout the battery’s lifetime compared to the existing RNN counterparts. Moreover, it also shows greater robustness against different initial SOCs, making it more applicable for online SOC estimations in practical situations. Based on these verification results, it is concluded that the proposed DIGF network is feasible for estimating the battery’s SOC accurately throughout the battery’s lifetime against varying initial SOCs.

Vγ2Vδ2 T cell-based immunotherapy has benefited some patients in clinical trials, but the overall efficacy is low for solid tumor patients. In this study, a bispecific antibody against both PD-L1 and CD3 (PD-L1 x CD3), Y111, could efficiently bridge T cells and PD-L1 expressing tumor cells. The Y111 prompted fresh CD8+ T cell-mediated lysis of H358 cells, but spared this effect on the fresh Vδ2+ T cells enriched from the same donors, which suggested that Y111 could bypass the anti-tumor capacity of the fresh Vγ2Vδ2 T cells. As the adoptive transfer of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells was approved to be safe and well-tolerated in clinical trials, we hypothesized that the combination of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells with the Y111 would provide an alternative approach of immunotherapy. Y111 induced the activation of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells in a dose-dependent fashion in the presence of PD-L1 positive tumor cells. Moreover, Y111 increased the cytotoxicity of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells against various NSCLC-derived tumor cell lines with the releases of granzyme B, IFNγ, and TNFα in vitro. Meanwhile, the adoptive transferred Vγ2Vδ2 T cells together with the Y111 inhibited the growth of the established xenografts in NPG mice. Taken together, our data suggested a clinical potential for the adoptive transferring the Vγ2Vδ2 T cells with the Y111 to treat PD-L1 positive solid tumors.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of ultra-short-course chemotherapy (

Shear strength of shallow expansive soil varies along with the depth under the freeze-thaw effect. This work investigates shear strength characteristics of shallow expansive soil by simulating the actual freeze boundary conditions of seasonal frozen areas with water supplement. An integrated approach incorporating the freeze-thaw test and direct shear test was adopted. Firstly, unidirectional freezing tests for expansive soil columns under three different freezing temperature gradients were carried out. Secondly, direct shear tests under low vertical stress were performed on the standard samples, which were prepared by using cutting rings cut the thawed expansive soil columns into nine segments along with the depth. Temperature, water content, and dry density at different depths were also investigated after the freeze-thaw process. The test results showed that, after the freeze-thaw process, the shear strength of expansive soil columns showed significant differences along with the depth and highly correlated with water content, specifically the higher water content and the lower shear strength. The minimum shear strength in the expansive soil columns occurred at the soil layer below the frozen and unfrozen zones interface. The expansive soil column’s shear strength changed most under the moderate freezing temperature gradient corresponding to the most considerable shear strength reduction. Moreover, the significant decrease in cohesion was the main reason for the shear strength reduction of expansive soil after the freeze-thaw process. These results indicate significant depth variability in shear strength of expansive soil under the freeze-thaw effect.

Accurate life prediction and reliability evaluation of lithium-ion batteries are of great significance for predictive maintenance. In the whole life cycle of a battery, the accurate description of the dynamic and stochastic characteristics of life has always been a key problem. In this paper, the concept of the digital twin is introduced, and a digital twin for reliability based on remaining useful cycle life prediction is proposed for lithium-ion batteries. The capacity degradation model, stochastic degradation model, life prediction, and reliability evaluation model are established to describe the randomness of battery degradation and the dispersion of the life of multiple cells. Based on the Bayesian algorithm, an adaptive evolution method for the model of the digital twin is proposed to improve prediction accuracy, followed by experimental verification. Finally, the life prediction, reliability evaluation, and predictive maintenance of the battery based on the digital twin are implemented. The results show the digital twin for reliability has good accuracy in the whole life cycle. The error can be controlled at about 5% with the adaptive evolution algorithm. For battery L1 and L6 in this case, predictive maintenance costs are expected to decrease by 62.0% and 52.5%, respectively.

Driven by sintering kinetics, stochastically distributed voids exist inevitably in nano‑silver sintered joints to affect their electrical, mechanical and thermal properties, reliability, etc. In this paper, a holistic approach including both void morphology characterization and reconstruction stages is developed for the reconstruction of Stochastically Distributed Void Morphologies (SDVMs) in nano‑silver sintered joints. A set of dispersion parameters, including area A, distance l, angle α, and aspect ratio δ, are firstly proposed for quantitatively characterizing the voids dispersion features of the SDVMs. Then on the basis of the characterization results, a reconstruction approach is developed based on the random medium theory and similarity comparison algorithm. The applicability and validity of the proposed voids dispersion characterization and SDVM reconstruction methods are verified through numerical and experimental case studies, respectively. And effects on the dispersion features of the SDVMs by such as autocorrelation function parameters and the sintering pressure are also investigated via the comparative discussions on the cumulative distribution function (cdf) curves of all dispersion parameters.

Studies on binocular combination and rivalry show that short-term deprivation strengthens the contribution of the deprived eye in binocular vision. However, whether short-term monocular deprivation affects temporal processing per se is not clear. To address this issue, we conducted a study to investigate the effect of monocular deprivation on dichoptic temporal synchrony. We tested ten adults with normal vision and patched their dominant eye with an opaque patch for 2.5 h. A temporal synchrony paradigm was used to measure if temporal synchrony thresholds change as a result of monocular pattern deprivation. In this paradigm, we displayed two pairs of Gaussian blobs flickering at 1 Hz with either the same or different phased- temporal modulation. In Experiment 1, we obtained the thresholds for detecting temporal asynchrony under dichoptic viewing configurations. We compared the thresholds for temporal synchrony between before and after monocular deprivation and found no significant changes of the interocular synchrony. In Experiment 2, we measured the monocular thresholds for detecting temporal asynchrony. We also found no significant changes of the monocular synchrony of either the patched eye or the unpatched eye. Our findings suggest that short-term monocular deprivation induced-plasticity does not influence monocular or dichoptic temporal synchrony at low temporal frequency.

In this study, we used LS174T cells as a model to investigate the protective effects of icariin and phosphorylated icariin on LPS-induced goblet cell dysfunction. Our results indicated that icariin and phosphorylated icariin increased the cell viability and decreased lactate dehydrogenase activity in LPS-treated LS174T cells. Icariin and phosphorylated icariin attenuated LPS-induced changes in mucin 2 synthesis and secretion. Besides, Icariin and phosphorylated icariin reduced the levels of ROS, MDA, and H 2 O 2 and increased the activity of SOD, GPx, CAT, and T-AOC in LPS-treated LS174T cells. Moreover, the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were reduced in the Icariin and phosphorylated icariin group. Furthermore, Icariin and phosphorylated icariin decreased gene abundance or enzyme activity of Bip, XBP1, GRP78, CHOP, caspase-3, and caspase-4 in LPS-treated LS174T cells. Our data suggest that Icariin and phosphorylated icariin effectively attenuate LPS-induced intestinal goblet cell function damage through regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and mucin expression.

High-speed elevator horizontal vibration (HsEHV) is a problem that seriously affects ride comfort. To solve this problem, a design parameter optimization method for HsEHV reduction was studied. A dynamic equation of HsEHV was established, and its response value was calculated using a precise integration method. The influence of the design parameters on horizontal vibration was also analyzed. An optimization model of the design parameters for HsEHV reduction was constructed, and the response surface model of objective function (the peak-to-peak value of horizontal vibration acceleration) was constructed using Latin hypercube sampling. We adopted a multiobjective genetic algorithm to optimize the design parameters for horizontal vibration reduction and used the min-max standardization method to select an optimal solution set. Finally, a KLK2 high-speed elevator made by Canny Elevator Co., Ltd., was utilized as an example to analyze the influencing factors of HsEHV, optimize the design parameters to reduce horizontal vibration, and verify the optimized results using numerical calculation and prototype testing.

Abstract Background Posterior instrumentation after deformity correction is an important method for reconstruction of spinal stability in the management of lumbar tuberculosis (TB). However, the commonly used methods include both long- and short-segment fixation of normal motor units. There has been no report regarding affected-vertebrae fixation of lumbar TB. Methods Data from 135 patients with lumbar TB who underwent posterior instrumentation and either affected-vertebrae fixation or short-segment fixation using a combined posterior and anterior approach were retrospectively reviewed. Among these patients, 71 cases were treated with affected-vertebrae fixation, and 64 cases were treated with short-segment fixation. Debridement, bone grafting, deformity correction, and decompression were performed within all affected segments. Operative times, intra-operative blood loss, TB cure rates, bone graft fusion rates, degree of deformity correction, neurological function, pain recovery, and complications were analyzed. Results Comparing affected-vertebrae fixation vs. short-segment fixation groups, respectively, the number of the affected segments was 107 vs. 98; average number of affected segments was 1.51 vs. 1.53; total number of fixed segments was 107 vs. 226; average number of fixed segments was 1.51 vs. 3.53; average blood loss was 726.2 ml vs. 948.5 ml; average operative time was 210.4 min vs. 270.3 min; and average hospitalization costs were 29,000 RMB vs. 42,000 RMB (all p values 0.05). Conclusion Under strict surgical indications, posterior instrumentation on affected-vertebrae is a safe, effective, and feasible fixation method in the treatment of lumber TB.

Abstract Background Direct intra-articular injection (DIAI) of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a promising technique for cartilage repair. However, the repair process was hindered by the absence of scaffold and poor cell–matrix interactions. Methods In this study, we developed a pericellular collagen I coating (PCC) on MSCs. The overall performances of MSC-PCC homing, chondrogenic differentiation, and cartilage regeneration have been comprehensively evaluated in a New Zealand rabbit model. Firstly, we examined the morphology and physical characteristics of PCC. Secondly, MSC ex-vivo cartilage slice adhesion and in-vivo cartilage defect homing were observed using multiscale methods. Thirdly, the precartilage condensation of cell pellets formed by aggregation of MSCs was examined to evaluate the cartilage-inducing potential of PCC. Finally, the cartilage regeneration by DIAI of PCC-coated MSCs was observed and scored macroscopically and histologically. Results In general, the cell adhesion and homing assay revealed that PCC facilitated MSC adhesion on cartilage slices, enhancing MSC homing and retention to cartilage defect. This increased homing ratio was accompanied by an increasing cell–cell contact. Compared with naked MSCs, the cell pellets formed by PCC-coated MSCs exhibited more evident appearance of condensation. In pellets, cell–cell interaction has been significantly stimulated, inducing the expression of condensation marker N-cadherin, and subsequent chondrogenic marker collagen II and aggrecan. By 12 weeks after DIAI, cartilage defects have been repaired by MSCs to varying degrees. Overall, PCC significantly enhances the quality of cartilage regeneration judging from macroscopic observation, ICRS score, histological examination, and collagen type I, II, and X immunohistochemical staining. Conclusions The capacity and viability of MSCs can be enhanced by collagen I coating, which provides cues for enhancing cell homing and differentiation. Our method provides a novel strategy for stem cell therapy.

Uncertainty analyses have been considered critical analysis methods for identifying the risks in reliability evaluations. However, with multi-phase, multi-state, and repairable features, this method cannot effectively and precisely display the reliability evaluation results with uncertainty for dynamic and complex systems. In this paper, uncertainty analysis has been conducted in the evaluation of safety-related risk analysis for a nuclear power plant (NPP). A GO-FLOW and dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) combination approach for the reliability evaluation with uncertainty is proposed in this paper. Based on the unified rules, the various operators can be mapped into the DBN even with the multi-phase, multi-state, and repairable characteristics. As the framework of the DBN, utilizing sensitivity analysis, this approach can provide information on those inputs that are contributing the most to the uncertainty. Next, the DBN algorithm and the Monte Carlo simulation are used to quantify the uncertainty in terms of appropriate estimates for the analysis results. Finally, the auxiliary power supply system of the pressurized water reactor in the NPP is analyzed as an example to illustrate the approach. The results of this paper show that uncertainty analysis makes the reliability evaluation more accurate compared with the results without the uncertainty analysis. Moreover, the GO-FLOW methodology can be applied easily for uncertainty analysis with its modified functions and algorithms.

The in-service loading condition of many engineering structures is generally composed of a stationary random loading caused by the mechanical vibration, and the spike loads due to occasional events, such as the sudden shock and accidental turbulence. In this paper, a physical-based method is proposed to evaluate the reliability of structure subjected to the stationary random fatigue loading superimposed by occasional spike loads. First, since the interaction effects of stationary random loading are approximately stable, the realistic random loading can be transferred to an equivalent constant amplitude loading. This equivalent transformation method can avoid the complicated cycle-by-cycle calculation. This approach is derived from the two-parameter fatigue crack growth model, in which the driving parameters of the fatigue crack growth are the stress intensity factor of peak load and the stress intensity factor range. Second, the spike loads lead to the high nonlinearity of interaction effect, which can be accounted for by the plasticity. Therefore, the generalized Willenborg model is employed to calculate the fatigue crack propagation under the spike loading effects. Then, the extensive experimental data of aluminum alloys are used to validate the proposed method, in which the indeterminacies of material parameter and spike loads are considered. It is observed that all the testing data are contained within the prediction 90% confidence interval bounds. In addition, a Monte Carlo simulation example of fatigue life reliability assessment under stationary random loading with spike loads is performed. Two scenarios of different spike load distributions are discussed. In the first scenario, the spike loads are applied at a fixed time interval, while in the other scenario, the spike loads occur with varying time period. The results indicate that the proposed approach can appropriately evaluate the fatigue reliability of the structure under stationary random loading with spike loads.

The GO methodology, which is a success-oriented system analysis technique, is effective for evaluating the reliability of complex systems with multiple states and time-series. It is widely used in the domain of nuclear and ship industry. However, the GO methodology has some restrictions in modeling and analyzing an intricate system that contains dynamic behavior characteristics, such as function dependency, backup dependency, and load sharing. To enhance both the capacity of the modeling and the scope of applications, we proposed an extended GO methodology in this paper to describe the dependencies of the dynamic behaviors. Integrated with the dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), the dynamic behaviors can be presented in a unified way. By using mature software, the extended GO methodology proposed in this paper can be calculated conveniently. Meanwhile, based on unified rules, the multi-operator can be mapped into the DBN, followed by a complete GO model with complex characteristics that can be converted into an isomorphic DBN and analyzed easily by utilizing DBN's powerful inference capabilities. Moreover, the approach makes the extended GO model easy to analyze and intuitive for nonexperts.

The hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) vehicle is an important clean energy vehicle which has prospects for development. The behavior of the hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) vehicle power system, and in particular, the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell, has been extensively studied as of recent. The development of the dynamic system modeling technology is of paramount importance for HFC vehicle studies; however, it is hampered by the separation of the electrochemical properties and dynamic properties. In addition, the established model matching the follow-up control method lacks applicability. In attempts to counter these obstructions, we proposed an improved fuzzy (Proportional Integral Derivative) PID control method considering HFC voltage-output characteristics. By developing both the electrochemical and dynamic model for HFC vehicle, we can realize the coordinated control of HFC and power cell. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results in the two models. The proposed control algorithm has a good control effect in all stages of HFC vehicle operation.

The application of corrugated steel sandwich panels on ships requires excellent structural performance in impact resistance, which is often achieved by increasing the weight without giving full play to the characteristics of the structure. Considering the mechanical properties of sandwich panels under static and impact loading, a multi-objective optimal method based on a back-propagation (BP) neural network and a genetic algorithm developed in MATLAB is proposed herein. The evaluation criteria for this method included structural mass, static and dynamic stress, static and dynamic deformation, and energy absorption. Before optimization, representative sample points were obtained through numerical simulation calculations. Then, the functional relationship between the design and output variables was generated using the BP neural network. Finally, a standard genetic algorithm (SGA) and an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) were used for multi-objective optimization analysis with the established function to obtain the best result. Through this study, a new design concept with high efficiency and reliability was developed to determine the structural parameters that provide the best impact resistance using limited sample points.

Icariin (ICA) and phosphorylated icariin (pICA) have excellent antiviral and antioxidant effects. However, whether ICA and pICA cause anti-LPS-induced intestinal damage remains unclear. In this study, we used Caco-2 cells as a model to investigate the protective effects of ICA and pICA on human colonic epithelial cells and explore their potential mechanisms. Our results indicated that ICA and pICA increased cell viability and decreased lactate dehydrogenase activity in Caco-2 cells. ICA and pICA also attenuated LPS-induced changes in intestinal epithelial cell permeability and reduced the levels of oxidative stress indicators, such as reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide, in Caco-2 cells. Antioxidant indicators, such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and total antioxidant capacity, were increased, while the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were reduced in the ICA and pICA groups. Furthermore, ICA and pICA decreased the gene abundance and enzyme activities of caspase-3, -8, -9 and -10 in Caco-2 cells. Our data suggest that ICA and pICA effectively attenuated LPS-induced changes in the oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis and intestinal permeability of intestinal epithelial cells. These findings provide new insight for treating LPS-induced intestinal injury.

Holes exist on parts of ships and offshore structures to satisfy functional requirements, reduce weight, and achieve economic benefits. However, stress concentration often occurs around holes and affects the safety of structures. Analytical methods have been proposed for calculating the stress distribution for regular shapes of holes, such as circular, square, and triangular, particularly for the waist hole on the infinite plate. However, the stress distribution of other types of holes on the finite plate is difficult to calculate, although it is more important in practice. In this study, the stress distribution around the waist hole on the finite plate is explored. An improved mapping function for the waist hole, which introduces a new variable based on the rational mapping theory, is proposed, and the range and variation of each parameter in the formula are given according to the structural characteristics of the waist hole. The typical waist hole on the finite plate is calculated using the proposed method, and related numerical simulations are also performed. The results verify the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method. Moreover, the stress distribution of the waist hole under different loads is calculated and discussed. The findings of this study provide a theoretical reference for practical engineering applications.

To observe the regional anatomy of the lumbar artery (LA) associated with the extrapedicular approach applied during percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP), we collected 78 samples of abdominal computed tomography angiography imaging data. We measured the nearest distance from the center of the vertebral body puncture point to the LA (distance VBPP-LA, DVBPP-LA). According to the DVBPP-LA, four zones, Zone I, Zone II, Zone III and Zone IV, were identified. LAs that passed through these zones were called Type I, Type II, Type III and Type IV LAs, respectively. A portion of the lumbar vertebrae had an intersegmental branch that originated from the upper segmental LA and extended longitudinally across the lateral wall of the pedicle; it was called Type V LA. Compared with the DVBPP-LA in L1, L2, L3 and L4, the overall difference and between-group differences were significant (P < 0.05). In L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5, there were 8, 4, 4, 0 and 1 Type I LAs, respectively. There were no Type V LAs in L1 and L2, but there were 2, 16 and 26 Type V LAs in L3, L4 and L5, respectively. In L1-L5, the numbers of Type I LA plus Type V LA were 8, 4, 6, 16 and 27, and the presence ratios were 5.1%, 2.6%, 5.6%, 10.3% and 17.3%, respectively. In L4 and L5, the male presence ratios of Type I LA plus Type V LA were 7.1% and 10.7%, respectively, and the female presence ratios were 13.9% and 25.0%, respectively. Thus, extrapedicular PVP (PKP) in lumbar vertebrae had a risk of LA injury and was not suggested for use in L4 and L5, especially in female patients.

In the series-compensated grid-connected system (SCGCS), there is an impedance interaction between the inverter impedance and the grid impedance that is prone to cause resonance in the SCGCS. In this paper, firstly, considering the effects of the phase-locked loop (PLL), current-loop, and frequency coupling, the broadband impedance model of the SCGCS is established. The stability of the SCGCS is analyzed by the impedance-based Nyquist stability criterion. It is found from the stability analysis that the impedance interaction between the inverter impedance and the grid impedance is the leading cause of the resonance. An impedance reshaping based resonance suppression method is proposed to suppress the resonance. The phase characteristics of the inverter equivalent output impedance are reshaped from the perspective of impedance. The phase margin at the intersection frequency of the inverter impedance and the grid impedance is improved. The proposed resonance suppression approach mainly consists of reshaping the current loop impedance and the novel phase-locked loop impedance. Finally, simulations and experiments are used to verify the feasibility of the resonance analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

The conversion from functional requirements (FRs) to design parameters is the foundation of product customization. However, original customer needs usually result in incomplete FRs, limited by customers’ incomprehension on the design requirements of these products. As the incomplete FRs may undermine the design activities afterwards, managers need to develop an effective approach to predict the missing values of the FR. This study proposes an integrative approach to obtain the complete FR. The k nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm is employed to predict the missing continuous variables in FR, using the improved distance formula for two incomplete FRs. Support vector machine (SVM) classifiers are adopted to classify the missing categorical variables in FR, combined with directed acyclic graph for multi-class classification. KNN and SVM are then integrated into a multi-layer framework to predict the missing values of FR, where categorical and continuous variables both exist. A case study on the elevator customization is conducted to verify that KNN-SVM is feasible in accurate prediction of elevator FR values. Furthermore, KNN-SVM outperforms other five single and five composite methods, with average reduction in root mean squared error (RMSE) of 39% and 21% against KNN and KNN-Tree, respectively.

The influence of irradiation should be considered in fatigue reliability analyses of reactor structures under irradiation conditions. In this study, the effects of irradiation hardening and irradiation embrittlement on fatigue performance parameters were quantified and a fatigue life prediction model was developed. Based on this model, which takes into account the cumulative effect of a neutron dose, the total fatigue damage was calculated according to Miner’s linear cumulative damage law, and the reliability analysis was carried out using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The case results show that the fatigue life acquired by taking into account the cumulative effect of irradiation was reduced by 24.3% compared with that acquired without considering the irradiation effect. Irradiation led to the increase of the fatigue life at low strains and its decrease at high strains, which is in accordance with the findings of an irradiation fatigue test. The rate of increase in the fatigue life decreased gradually with the increase of the neutron dose. The irradiation performance parameters had a small influence on fatigue reliability, while the fatigue strength coefficient and the elastic modulus had a great influence on the fatigue reliability. Compared with the current method, which uses a high safety factor to determine design parameters, a fatigue reliability analysis method taking into account the cumulative effect of irradiation could be more accurate in the reliability analysis and life prediction of reactor structures.

As the demand for high-speed elevators grows, the requirements of elevator performance have also developed. The high speed will produce strong airflow disturbances and drastic pressure changes, which is prone to cause passenger discomfort. In this paper, an elevator car air pressure compensation method based on coupling analysis of internal and external flow fields (IE-FF) is proposed. It helps to adaptively track the ideal air pressure curve (IAPC) inside the car and controls the air pressure fluctuation to improve the ride comfort of the elevator. To obtain the air pressure transient value in the elevator car, an IE-FF modeling method is proposed. Based on the IE-FF model, the air pressure compensation system is developed. To realize the air pressure compensation inside the car, an adaptive iterative learning control (A-ILC) algorithm is proposed, to eliminate the passengers’ ear pressing due to the severe air pressure fluctuation. To verify the proposed method, the KLK2 (Canny Elevator Co., Ltd., 2015, Suzhou, China) high-speed elevator is applied. The numerical experiment results show that the proposed method has higher tracking accuracy and convergence speed compared to the classical Proportion Integral Differential (PID) algorithm and the Proportion Integral-iterative learning control (PD-ILC) algorithm.

In practical dairy production, cows are frequently subjected to inflammatory diseases, such as high-grain diet-induced subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) as well as mastitis and metritis. Under the circumstances, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces oxidative stress within the cow and in the mammary epithelial cells. It has implications in practical production to alleviate oxidative stress and to optimize the lactational function of the mammary epithelial cells. This study thus aimed to investigate the antioxidative effects of dandelion aqueous extract (DAE) on LPS-induced oxidative stress and the mechanism of DAE as an antioxidant to alleviate oxidative stress through the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway in the bovine mammary epithelial cell line MAC-T cells. The cells were cultured for 48 h in six treatments including control (without LPS and DAE), LPS (100 ng/mL), DAE10 (100 ng/mL LPS and 10 μg/mL DAE), DAE50 (100 ng/mL LPS and 50 μg/mL DAE), DAE100 (100 ng/mL LPS and 100 μg/mL DAE), and DAE200 (100 ng/mL LPS and 200 μg/mL DAE), respectively. The results showed that cell viability was reduced by LPS, and the adverse effect of LPS was suppressed with the supplementation of DAE. Lipopolysaccharide-induced oxidative stress through enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, resulted in increases in oxidative damage marker concentrations, while 10 and 50 μg/mL DAE alleviated the LPS-induced oxidative stress via scavenging cellular ROS and improving antioxidant enzyme activity. The upregulation of antioxidative gene expression in DAE treatments was promoted through activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway, with DAE at a concentration of 50 μg/mL exhibiting the highest effect. Overall, DAE acted as an effective antioxidant to inhibit LPS-induced oxidative stress and as a potential inducer of the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Bi-layered metallic bending tubes are widely used in extreme environments. The spring-back prediction theory for precise forming of such tube configuration is lacking. The layered coupling causes complex section internal force and new boundary conditions. This work proposed a theoretical prediction model of bimetallic tubes’ spring-back under computer numerically controlled (CNC) bending. This model calculated the spring-back angle by importing two new parameters—the composite elastic modulus (Ec) and the composite strain neutral layer (Dε). To investigate Dε, the neutral layer shifting extraction method was proposed to get the shifting value from finite element simulations. Simulations and full-scale bending experiments were carried out to verify the reliability of this prediction model. The theoretical results are closer to the experimental results than the finite element (FE) results and the theoretical results neglecting neutral layer shifting. The change of spring-back angle with the interlaminar friction coefficient was investigated. The results indicated that the normal mechanical bonding bimetallic tube with an interlaminar friction coefficient below 0.3 can reduce spring-back.

Mastitis is usually caused by a variety of pathogenic bacteria that include both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) of Gram-negative bacteria, and peptidoglycan (PGN) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) are those of Gram-positive bacteria. The effects of LPS, PGN and/or LTA on inflammatory response and lactation in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) are well studied, but the epigenetic mechanisms of their effects received less attention. Furthermore, since the three PAMPs are often simultaneously present in the udder of cows with mastitis, it has implications in practice to study their additive effects. The results show that co-stimulation of bovine mammary epithelial cells with PGN, LTA, and LPS induced a higher number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and greater expressions of inflammatory factors including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL)1, and CXCL6. In addition, co-stimulation further increased DNA hypomethylation compared with sole LPS stimulation. Co-stimulation greatly decreased casein expression but did not further decrease histone acetylation levels and affect the activity of histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC), compared with sole LPS stimulation. Collectively, this study demonstrated that PGN, LTA, and LPS had an additive effect on inducing transcriptome changes and inflammatory responses in BMECs, probably through inducing a greater decrease in DNA methylation. Co-stimulation with PGN, LTA, and LPS decreased casein expression to a greater degree, but it might not be linked to histone acetylation and HAT and HDAC activity.

The discontinuities of a five-axis linear-segment toolpath result in fluctuation in the feedrate, acceleration and jerk commands that lead to machine tool vibration and poor surface finish. For path smoothing, with the global curve-fitting method it is difficult to control fitting error and the local corner-smoothing method has large curvature extreme. For path synchronization, the parameter synchronization method cannot ensure smooth rotary motion. Aiming at these problems, this paper proposes a double B-spline curve-fitting and synchronization-integrated feedrate scheduling method. Two C2-continuous and error-bounded B-spline curves are produced to fit tool-tip position and tool orientation, respectively. The fitting error is controlled by locally refining the curve segments that exceed the fitting tolerance. The tool-tip position trajectory is firstly planned to address axial kinematic constraints in the feedrate scheduling process. Then the feedrate is deformed for the tool orientation to guarantee smooth rotary motion as well as to share the same motion time with the tool-tip position segment by segment. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method have been validated by simulations and experiments on the S-shape test piece. Simulations show that the proposed curve-fitting method can generate smooth toolpath and constrain fitting error. The proposed feedrate scheduling method can guarantee smooth rotary motion and keep axial motions under kinematic limits, compared with the method that does not consider axial kinematic constraints and the parameter synchronization method. Experimental results verify that the proposed curve-fitting method can generate smooth tool path under fitting tolerance, and the proposed feedrate scheduling method can produce smooth and restricted axial motions.

As the demand for high-speed elevators grows, the requirements of elevator performance have also increased. Most of these are single variables that do not consider the comprehensive impact of multiple variables on performance, especially comfort. To overcome this problem, a stepped segmentation method for a theoretical high-speed elevator car air pressure curve (THEC-APC) adjustment is proposed that could actively help to select a suitable theoretical elevator car air pressure adjustment curve. By utilizing the proposed Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, the theoretical elevator car air pressure curve is optimized for multiple performances (including passenger comfort, energy consumption, and aerodynamic characteristics). In addition, the THEC-APC is smoothed by the Bezier curve for the variable destination floor. To verify the proposed method, the KLK2 (Canny Elevator Co., Ltd., 2015, Suzhou) high-speed elevator design process is applied. The numerical experiment results show that the proposed method can improve the accuracy and search efficiency of the optimal solution. Meanwhile, the proposed method helps to promote further air pressure compensation design for high-speed elevators.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are the most common pathogens of mastitis, and S. aureus generally causes subclinical mastitis which is more persistent and resistant to treatment. Peptidoglycan (PGN) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) are cell wall components of S. aureus. Although the roles of PGN and LTA in causing inflammation are well studied, the epigenetic mechanisms of the effects of PGN and LTA on the inflammation and lactation remain poorly understood. This study characterized the gene expression profiling by RNA sequencing and investigated DNA methylation and histone acetylation in relation to inflammation and lactation in the immortalized bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T). The cells were cultured for 24 h with neither PGN nor LTA (CON), PGN (30 μg/mL), LTA (30 μg/mL), and PGN (30 μg/mL) + LTA (30 μg/mL), respectively. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the expression of proinflammatory factors including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL)1, and CXCL6 of the treatments increased in the following order: CON < PGN < LTA < PGN + LTA, and the DEGs mainly enriched on the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and chemokine signaling pathway. LTA and PGN + LTA induced hypomethylation of global DNA by suppressing DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity. PGN and LTA, alone or combined, decreased the mRNA expression of casein genes (CSN1S1, CSN2, and CSN3) and the expression of two caseins (CSN2 and CSN3), and reduced histone H3 acetylation by suppressing histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity and promoting histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. Collectively, this study revealed that PGN and LTA induced inflammation probably due to decreasing DNA methylation through regulating DNMT activity, and decreased lactation possibly through reducing histone H3 acetylation by regulating HAT and HDAC activity in bovine mammary epithelial cells.

The increase in global warming has secured the arctic region as a research hotspot, and the existence of ice floes and massive icebergs poses a great challenge to the navigational safety of polar ships. For the finite simulation of ship−ice collisions, a reasonable description of the ice constitutive model is the most important factor for the accuracy of ice load prediction and structural deformation assessment. Due to the complex physical properties of natural sea ice materials, there are still many difficulties in achieving a widely accepted ice material model. In this paper, a constitutive model of ice material considering the influence of temperature is established and embedded into finite element software LS-DYNA, and the material property parameters are validated and analyzed. Then, the drop test in a published paper is recapitulated by the numerical simulation with the proposed method, and the results are compared. Good agreement is attained between the numerical simulation and published results. The influences of temperature and drop height are discussed, and the results show that both of them have an important effect on structural deformation. The research results can be used for ice load prediction and polar ship structure design.

Plant height (PH) and the number of nodes on the main stem (NN) serve as major plant architecture traits affecting soybean seed yield. Although many quantitative trait loci for the two traits have been reported, their genetic controls at different developmental stages in soybeans remain unclear. Here, 368 soybean breeding lines were genotyped using 62,423 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and phenotyped for the two traits at three different developmental stages over two locations in order to identify their quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) using compressed mixed linear model (CMLM) and multi-locus random-SNP-effect mixed linear model (mrMLM) approaches. As a result, 11 and 13 QTNs were found by CMLM to be associated with PH and NN, respectively. Among these QTNs, 8, 3, and 4 for PH and 6, 6, and 8 for NN were found at the three stages, and 3 and 6 were repeatedly detected for PH and NN. In addition, 34 and 30 QTNs were found by mrMLM to be associated with PH and NN, respectively. Among these QTNs, 11, 13, and 16 for PH and 11, 15, and 8 for NN were found at the three stages. A majority of these QTNs overlapped with the previously reported loci. Moreover, one QTN within the known E2 locus for flowering time was detected for the two traits at all three stages, and another that overlapped with the Dt1 locus for stem growth habit was also identified for the two traits at the mature stage. This may explain the highly significant correlation between the two traits. Our findings provide evidence for mixed major plus polygenes inheritance for dynamic traits and an extended understanding of their genetic architecture for molecular dissection and breeding utilization in soybeans.

A two-parameter fatigue crack growth algorithm in integral form is proposed, which can describe the continuous crack growth process over the time period. In this model, the fatigue crack propagation behavior is governed by the temporal crack-tip state including the current applied load and the physical condition due to the previous load sequence. The plasticity-induced crack closure, left by the historical loading sequence, controls the following fatigue crack growth behavior and typically leads to the interaction effects. In the proposed method, a modified crack closure model deriving from the local plastic deformation is employed to account for this load memory effect. In general, this model can simulate the fatigue crack growth under variable amplitude loading. Additionally, this model is established on the physical state of crack tip in the small spatial and temporal scale, and it is used to evaluate the macroscopic crack propagation and fatigue life under irregular tension-tension loading. A special superimposed loading case is discussed to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed model, while the traditional two-parameter approach is not proper functional. Moreover, the typical various load spectra are also employed to validate the method. Good agreements are observed.

Soybean oil is the most widely produced vegetable oil in the world and its content in soybean seed is an important quality trait in breeding programs. More than 100 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for soybean oil content have been identified. However, most of them are genotype specific and/or environment sensitive. Here, we used both a linkage and association mapping methodology to dissect the genetic basis of seed oil content of Chinese soybean cultivars in various environments in the Jiang-Huai River Valley. One recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (NJMN-RIL), with 104 lines developed from a cross between M8108 and NN1138-2, was planted in five environments to investigate phenotypic data, and a new genetic map with 2,062 specific-locus amplified fragment markers was constructed to map oil content QTLs. A derived F2 population between MN-5 (a line of NJMN-RIL) and NN1138-2 was also developed to confirm one major QTL. A soybean breeding germplasm population (279 lines) was established to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 59,845 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism markers. In the NJMN-RIL population, 8 QTLs were found that explained a range of phenotypic variance from 6.3 to 26.3% in certain planting environments. Among them, qOil-5-1, qOil-10-1, and qOil-14-1 were detected in different environments, and qOil-5-1 was further confirmed using the secondary F2 population. Three loci located on chromosomes 5 and 20 were detected in a 2-year long GWAS, and one locus that overlapped with qOil-5-1 was found repeatedly and treated as the same locus. qOil-5-1 was further localized to a linkage disequilibrium block region of approximately 440 kb. These results will not only increase our understanding of the genetic control of seed oil content in soybean, but will also be helpful in marker-assisted selection for breeding high seed oil content soybean and gene cloning to elucidate the mechanisms of seed oil content.

III-nitride-based ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV LED) has numerous attractive applications in air and water purification, UV photolithography, and in situ activation of drugs through optical stimulus, solid state lighting, polymer curing, and laser surgery. However, the unclear failure mechanisms and uncertainty reliability have limited its application. Therefore, a design of an appropriate reliability test plan for UV LEDs has become extremely urgent. Compared to traditional reliability tests recommended in LED lighting industry, the step-stress accelerated degradation test (SSADT) is more cost-effective and time-effective. This paper compares three SSADT testing plans with temperature and driving currents as stepwise increasing loads to determine an appropriate test strategy for UV LEDs. The study shows that: (1) the failure mechanisms among different SSADT tests seem to be very different, since the driving current determines the failure mechanisms of UV LEDs more sensitively, and (2) the stepped temperature accelerated degradation test with an appropriate current is recommended for UV LEDs.

To increase the reliability and accuracy of tolerance design, more and more research works are considering not only orientation and position deviations; they are also forming errors in tolerance modeling. As a direct cause of form errors in industrial mass production, the processing features of the machining system degrade over time. Under the Industry 4.0 paradigm, an assembly tolerance design method based on Skin Model Shape is proposed to take the effect of degrading processing features into consideration. A continuous-time multi-dimensional Markov process is trained through maximum likelihood estimation based on the nodal sampling point set on the machined surface. Degradation of the machined surface is modeled based on the joint probability distribution of nodal displacements. Assembly force constraints and assembly entity constraints are applied to spatial assembly simulations. Tolerance synthesis takes the manufacturing cost and assembling probability as design objectives. A design example of the rotary feed component in a five-axis machine tool is proposed for explanation and verification.

The properties of materials directly affect the performance of the sealing structures, among which the rubber O-ring seal is one of the most commonly used. In addition, the performance of the O-ring seal is often influenced by the randomness in structure and working conditions, which greatly reduce the reliability of the sealing structure. This paper proposes a reliability-based method to analyze the influence of the randomness in rubber material parameters on the sealing performance of the O-ring. Based on the failure mechanism of the O-ring seal, the stochastic characteristics of the parameters in O-rings are determined through experiments, and the influences of these parameters on the reliability are subsequently analyzed. Moreover, the working conditions are also taken into account to analyze their influence on the performance and reliability of the O-ring seal. The proposed method provides easy access to estimate the reliability of the rubber O-ring seal considering the uncertainty in structure and operational conditions. It is revealed that the material and geometric parameters had greater influence on the reliability of the rubber O-ring.

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could result in poor lactation performance in dairy cows. High methylation of DNA is associated with gene repression. However, it is unclear whether LPS could suppress the expression of lactation-related genes by inducing DNA methylation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of LPS on genome-wide DNA methylation, using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation with high-throughput sequencing (MeDIP-seq) and on the promoter methylation of lactation-related genes using MassArray analysis in bovine mammary epithelial cells. The bovine mammary epithelial cell line MAC-T cells were treated for 48 h with LPS at different doses of 0, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 endotoxin units (EU)/mL (1 EU = 0.1 ng). The results showed that the genomic methylation levels and the number of methylated genes in the genome as well as the promoter methylation levels of milk genes increased when the LPS dose was raised from 0 to 10 EU/mL, but decreased after further increasing the LPS dose. The milk gene mRNA expression levels of the 10 EU/mL LPS treatment were significantly lower than these of untreated cells. The results also showed that the number of hypermethylated genes was greater than that of hypomethylated genes in lipid and amino acid metabolic pathways following 1 and 10 EU/mL LPS treatments as compared with control. By contrast, in the immune response pathway the number of hypomethylated genes increased with increasing LPS doses. The results indicate LPS at lower doses induced hypermethylation of the genome and promoters of lactation-related genes, affecting milk gene mRNA expression. However, LPS at higher doses induced hypomethylation of genes involved in the immune response pathway probably in favor of immune responses.

The rapid development of complexity and intelligence in manufacturing systems leads to an increase in potential operational risks and therefore requires a more comprehensive system-level health diagnostics approach. Based on the massive multi-source operational data collected by smart sensors, this paper proposes a mission reliability-driven manufacturing system health state evaluation method. Characteristic attributes affecting the mission reliability are monitored and analyzed based on different sensor groups, including the performance state of the manufacturing equipment, the execution state of the production task and the quality state of the manufactured product. The Dempster-Shafer (D-S) evidence theory approach is used to diagnose the health state of the manufacturing system. Results of a case study show that the proposed evaluation method can dynamically and effectively characterize the actual health state of manufacturing systems.

The fault diagnosis of hydraulic pumps is currently important and significant to ensure the normal operation of the entire hydraulic system. Considering the nonlinear characteristics of hydraulic-pump vibration signals and the mode mixing problem of the original Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method, first, we use the Complete Ensemble EMD (CEEMD) method to decompose the signals. Second, the time-frequency analysis methods, which include the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and time-frequency entropy calculation, are applied to realize the robust feature extraction. Third, the multiclass Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is introduced to automatically classify the fault mode in this paper. An actual hydraulic-pump experiment demonstrates the procedure with a complete feature extraction and accurate mode classification.

The lifetime prediction using accelerated degradation test (ADT) method has become a main issue for white light emitting diodes applications. This paper proposes a novel lifetime model for light emitting diodes (LEDs) under thermal and electrical stresses, where the junction temperature and driving current are deemed the input parameters for lifetime prediction. The features of LEDs’ lifetime and the law of lumen depreciation under dual stresses are combined to build the lifetime model. The adoption of thermal and electrical stresses overcomes the limitation of single stress, and junction temperature in accelerated degradation test as thermal stress is more reliable than ambient temperature in conventional ADT. Furthermore, verifying applications and cases studies are discussed to prove the practicability and generality of the proposed lifetime model. In addition, the lifetime model reveals that electrical stress is equally significant to the thermal stress in the degradation of LEDs, and therefore should not be ignored in the investigation on lumen decay of LEDs products.