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Therapeutic targeting the protein-protein interaction (PPI) of Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) and its main regulator, Kelch-like ECH-Associating protein 1 (Keap1) has been emerged as a feasible way to combat oxidative stress related diseases, due to the key role of Nrf2 in oxidative stress regulation. In recent years, many efforts have been made to develop potent Keap1-Nrf2 inhibitors with new chemical structures. Various molecules with diverse chemical structures have been reported and some compounds exhibit high potency. This review summarizes peptide and small molecule Keap1-Nrf2 inhibitors reported recently. We also highlight the pharmacological effects and discuss the possible therapeutic application of Keap1-Nrf2 inhibitors.

Purpose Functional MRI has played a fundamental role in Parkinson's disease(PD) study. In this paper, we performed an independent component analysis (ICA) based on functional networks to reveal the intricate variations on the morphology and functional properties of brain. Our analysis aims at discovering the differences between PD patients with sensorimotor function impairment and normal controls(NC), thus helping to understand the coordination neurological function degeneration in PD objectively. Method We investigated the blood oxygen level dependent(BOLD) functional MRI obtained at a 3.0 T MRI scanner. 30 PD patients and 28 NC subjects underwent the scan in resting state. The signals of sensory and motor coordinative control areas in the sensorimotor, insula and cerebellum networks acquired by ICA(Independent Component Analysis)were applied to analyze the functional alterations. Specifically, intra-network analysis was performed with signals in local networks, and inter-network analysis was conducted by functional network connectivity (FNC) with signals across different networks. Two sample T test was carried out to detect the significant (p Conclusion We identified an obvious increase in bilateral posterior insula, but decrease in bilateral cerebellum hemisphere, supplementary motor area(SMA) and precentral gyrus paracentral lobule of left postcentral gyrus. Besides, we found a significantly increased connection between independent component (IC) 13 which was located in right postcentral gyrus and cerebellum. Decreased connections were detected between sensory and motor cortex in sensorimotor network and between cerebellum and insula network by FNC analysis in PD patients as well. Discussion Parkinson's disease derives from the degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, and results in decreased secretion of inhibitory neurotransmitter. The significant differences between PD and NC groups in our research maybe explain the clinical manifestations of prominent bradykinesia and multiple extrapyramidal symptoms.

Arsenic is a highly toxic pollutant and exists in inorganic and organic forms in groundwater and industrial wastewater. It is of great importance to reduce the arsenic content to lower levels in the water (e.g.,10 ppb for drinking) in order to minimize risk to humans. In this study, a Fe-Mn-Zr ternary magnetic sorbent was fabricated via precipitation for removal of inorganic and organic arsenate. The synthesis of sorbent was optimized by Taguchi method, which leads to an adsorbent with higher adsorption capacity. The adsorption of As(V) was pH dependent; the optimal removal was achieved at pH 2 and 5 for inorganic and organic As(V), respectively. Contact time of 25 h was sufficient for complete adsorption of both inorganic and organic As(V). The adsorption isotherm study revealed that the adsorbent performed better in sequestration of inorganic As(V) than that of organic As(V); both adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm with maximum adsorption capacities of 81.3 and 16.98 mg g

The effects of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) on polymer chains’ mobility and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) exfoliation and distribution in a microcellular foaming process are investigated by the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experiments. The results of MD simulations and visualization analysis confirm that the synergistic effect of scCO2 molecules and polystyrene (PS) chains is beneficial for them to penetrate into the interlayer of GNPs during the scCO2 treatment at high saturation pressure. The scanning electron microscope images show that some cells exist in the interlayer of GNPs in the foam fabricated in the highest saturation pressure and shortest depressurization time. With foaming in different depressurization time, the growing cells facilitate the movement of GNPs after their exfoliation, leading to alignment around the cells. As compared to large diameter GNPs, the GNPs with small diameter rearrange easily and distribute more homogeneously due to lower resistance of GNPs’ movement.

The purpose of situation assessment in regional air defense combat is to quickly fuse data as well as to provide commanders with timely support for decision making. We propose a new framework for situation assessment in regional air defense combat, which plays a very concrete role in real combat and follows the combat process. The proposed framework involves three aspects: assessment of the air defense capability of a region; the prediction of an enemy’s invasion route; and the generation of an interception plan. A Bayesian network is used to evaluate and infer the air defense capability of a region. In the network, the calculation of input evidence is based on threat models from radar, the terrain, and anti-aircraft firepower. The weak areas for air defense can be observed when the evaluation is completed. Accordingly, the possible flight path of an enemy invader can be predicted via particle swarm optimization. We build an interception model based on existing attack modes for intercepting enemy aircraft to provide pre-planning for interception. The experimental results prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. In particular, the proposed method can contribute to quick decision making in regional air defense combat.

Slingshots are phosphatases that modulate cytoskeleton dynamics, and their activities are tightly regulated in different physiological contexts. Recently, abnormally elevated Slingshot activity has been implicated in many human diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular diseases. Therefore, Slingshot-specific inhibitors have therapeutic potential. However, an enzymological understanding of the catalytic mechanism of Slingshots and of their activation by actin is lacking. Here, we report that the N-terminal region of human Slingshot2 auto-inhibits its phosphatase activity in a noncompetitive manner. pH-dependent phosphatase assays and leaving-group dependence studies suggested that the N-terminal domain of Slingshot2 regulates the stability of the leaving group of the product during catalysis by modulating the general acid Asp361 in the catalytic VYD loop. F-actin binding relieved this auto-inhibition and restored the function of the general acid. Limited tryptic digestion and biophysical studies identified large conformational changes in Slingshot2 after the F-actin binding. The dissociation of N-terminal structural elements, including Leu63, and the exposure of the loop between α-helix-2 and β-sheet-3 of the phosphatase domain served as the structural basis for Slingshot activation via F-actin binding in vitro and via neuregulin stimulation in cells. Moreover, we designed a FlAsH-BRET–based Slingshot2 biosensor whose readout was highly correlated with the in vivo phosphatase activities of Slingshot2. Our results reveal the auto-inhibitory mechanism and allosteric activation mechanisms of a human Slingshot phosphatase. They also contribute to the design of new strategies to study Slingshot regulation in various cellular contexts and to screen for new activators/inhibitors of Slingshot activity.

Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) adhesive is one of the most common types of adhesives has been used in the wood industry for decades. However, many drawbacks are still associated with this adhesive includi...

Quickly switching among different states (levels) is crucial for reconfigurable metamaterials and devices. In this study, the dynamics of establishment and transformation of five amorphous or near-amorphous intermediate states with obvious optical contrasts on Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change thin films driven by ultrashort laser pulses were investigated using real-time reflectivity measurements. The reversible coding-recoding among the five optical levels was realized by using single-shot picosecond laser pulses with designed fluences. The optical constants, crystalline states and surface morphologies before and after ultrafast multi-level coding were also compared and analyzed. These results may lay a foundation for the further design and application of dynamically reconfigurable optical/photonic devices.

Hierarchically porous SiO2/C hollow microspheres (HPSCHMs) were synthesized by a hydrothermal and NaOH-etching combined route. The adsorption performance of the prepared HPSCHMs was investigated to remove Congo Red (CR) in aqueous solution. The results show that the synthesized composite possesses a hollow microspherical structure with hierarchical pores and a diameter of about 100–200 nm, and its surface area is up to 1154 m2 g−1. This material exhibits a remarkable adsorption performance for CR in solution, and its maximum adsorption amount for CR can reach up to 2512 mg g−1. It shows faster adsorption and much higher adsorption capacity than the commercial AC and γ-Al2O3 samples under the same conditions. The studies of the kinetics and thermodynamics indicate that the adsorption of CR on the PHSCHM sample obeys the pseudo-second order model well and belongs to physisorption. The adsorption activation energy is about 7.72 kJ mol−1. In view of the hierarchically meso–macroporous structure, large surface area and pore volume, the HPSCHM material could be a promising adsorbent for removal of pollutants, and it could also be used as a catalyst support.

Expert knowledge is the foundation of the interpretability of belief rule base (BRB) expert system. However, the rule explosion problem and weak extendability of BRB limit the utilization of expert knowledge. To solve this problem, a new approximate belief rule with single attributes is proposed, with which a new expert system named as ABRB is constructed. In the new rule, the correlation among attributes is discounted by the independency factor. To illustrate the similar modelling ability of ABRB and BRB, the universal approximation ability of ABRB is proved theoretically. In the proposed ABRB, the key components, such as attributes, referential values, and the frame of discernment, can be extended to guarantee its effectiveness in the long-term practice. A case study of the Lithium-ion power battery is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model.

The internal flow in nozzle and macroscopic spray characteristics of diesel and biodiesel, by employing a validated numerical model and a laser-based Mie-scattering technique, are investigated. The results indicate that both the mass flow rate and the orifice exit average velocity of diesel are larger than those of biodiesel. Also, that diesel consistently produced higher cavitation intensity and turbulence kinetic energy confirms diesel can boost the naissance of cavitation and the turbulence disturbance inside the nozzle. Meanwhile, the cavitation intensity and the turbulence kinetic energy increase dramatically as the injection pressure increases; the cavitation domain is consistent with the domain of high turbulence kinetic energy. Furthermore, the radial velocity of diesel is significantly higher than biodiesel under the same injection pressure, while the radial velocities of both fuels increase as the injection pressure increase. Moreover, the spray tip penetration of biodiesel is longer than that of diesel, while the aerodynamic spray cone angle of biodiesel is narrower that of diesel under the same injection pressure. Higher surface tension and viscosity of biodiesel resulted in smaller cavitation intensity, turbulence kinetic energy and radial velocity at the nozzle exit, which in turn contribute to the narrowing of the aerodynamic spray cone angle.

In this study, doping of Sb 2 Te 3 with silicon carbide has been proposed to enhance the optical and electrical properties of Sb 2 Te 3 . The silicon carbide-doped Sb 2 Te 3 (Sb 2 Te 3 -SiC)-based phase change memory cell can be triggered by a 10 ns electric pulse, indicating its excellent electrical properties. Furthermore, femtosecond pulses are used to study the reversible phase transition processes. The large reflectivity ratio of Sb 2 Te 3 -SiC is beneficial for achieving distinguishable logical states in optical applications. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results show the SiC doping plays an important role in refining the grain size of Sb 2 Te 3 , producing smaller grain.

The crystallization process of Cr-doped Sb2Te thin films induced by repeated femtosecond laser pulses was studied systematically. The threshold effects and corresponding mechanism were comprehensively analyzed by real-time reflectivity measurements, optical microscopic imaging, and Raman scattering spectra. It was found that by doping the appropriate content of Cr into Sb2Te thin films, improved optical-thermal properties could be obtained, even in ultrafast crystallization processes.

Sn 1-x Fe x O 2 (x = 0, 0.023, 0.042 and 0.075) films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction shows that Fe doping does not alter the tetragonal rutile structure of SnO 2 . X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) characterization shows that no Fe metal clusters or secondary phases are formed and that Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ coexist and substitute the Sn sites with oxygen vacancies to compensate charge nonequilibrium in the Fe-doped SnO 2 films. Fe 2p and asymmetric O 1s XPS spectra further verify the existence of Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ , lattice oxygen (Sn O band) and anionic vacancies. The room temperature ferromagnetism of the films has a strong dependence on Fe-doping level. The saturation magnetization increases with increasing the Fe doping level, whereas the carrier concentration decrease. Which implies that the ferromagnetism is not mediated by carriers. The bound magnetic polarons resulted from the oxygen vacancies play a key role in the observed room temperature ferromagnetism.

A concise and facile approach for the construction of 2-hydroxy-2-substituted indol-3-ones was developed through an oxidative cyclization of 2-aminophenyl-1,3-dione. Using CAN and TEMPO as oxidants, C2-quaternary 2-hydroxy-indolin-3-ones were efficiently installed in moderate to excellent yields (up to 99%). Moreover, this developed protocol was further applied to synthetic studies towards natural product matemone by starting from readily available 2-amino-4-bromobenzoic acid, and the precursor for matemone was efficiently installed.

Background and Purpose: Oxidative stress is involved in the development of infections. However, whether oxidative stress indicators can be used as markers of stroke-associated infection (SAI) is st...

The various diseases that occur during the growth of plants usually cause a significant reduction in production and quality of agricultural products. Actinomycetes, especially Streptomyces spp., become a valuable biological control resource due to their preponderant abilities to produce various secondary metabolites with novel structure and remarkable biological activity. The present work aimed to isolate an effective antagonistic actinomycete against various soilborne phytopathogenic fungi. By dual culture with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, an antagonistic actinomycete named Streptomyces corchorusii stain AUH-1 was screened out from 26 soil samples. The in vitro bioassay results showed that S. corchorusii stain AUH-1 had a broad-spectrum antagonistic activity against a range of fungal plant pathogens, such as F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum, Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae, Rhizoctonia solani, P. capsica, Botryosphaeria dothidea, F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum, Verticillium dahliae, and F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum. According to the morphological observations in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence microscope (FM), it was found that the cell membranes of F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum were damaged when treated with the antifungal metabolite form S. corchorusii stain AUH-1. Meanwhile, the dropped ergosterol formation and increased malondialdehyde levels further confirmed that S. corchorusii strain AUH-1 exerted its antagonistic activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum via damaging the structure and function of cell membranes. In conclusion, S. corchorusii strain AUH-1 showed a promising prospect for the development of biological agent, especially due to its broad-spectrum and effective antagonist on various soil-borne plant pathogens.

Liver cancer, one of the most common malignancies, is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. The citrus reticulate peel and black tea have been studied for their beneficial health effects. In spite of the many studies have been reported, the underlying molecular mechanisms underlying its health benefits are still not fully understood. In present study, we developed a unique citrus reticulate peel black tea (CRPBT) by combined citrus reticulate peel and black tea and assessed its active ingredients, anti-oxidant and anti-liver cancer effects in vitro. The results suggested that CRPBT exhibited antioxidant capacity and effectively inhibited proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner. Mechanistically, CRPBT significantly down-regulated phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT, and up-regulated the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, and suppressed the expression of MMP2/9, N-cadherin and Vimetin proteins in liver cancer cells. Taken together, CRPBT has good effect on inhibiting migration, invasion, proliferation, and inducing apoptosis in liver cancer cells.

Quantitative assessment of white blood flow in semi-oval center of patients with delayed neuropathological sequelae (DNS) after carbon monoxide poisoning treated with acupuncture combined with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) based on magnetic resonance multi-inversion time arterial spin labeling imaging (mTI-ASL), and to evaluate its efficacy indirectly.Twenty-six patients with clinically diagnosed DNS were randomly divided into an observation group (13 cases) and a control group (13 cases). The conventional therapy combined with HBO were given in the control group. In the observation group,on the base of the treatment,After treatment, the CBF, MMSE scores in both groups and FA values in the observation group were higher than those before treatment (Acupuncture combined with hyperbaric oxygen can significantly improved early white matter hypoperfusion and improved cognitive function score in patients with DNS. The curative effect is better than that of hyperbaric oxygen therapy alone. The mTI-ASL imaging can quantitatively evaluate its curative effect.

Warburg found that tumor cells exhibit high-level glycolysis, even under aerobic condition, which is known as the ‘Warburg effect’. As systemic changes in the entire metabolic network are gradually revealed, it is recognized that metabolic reprogramming has gone far beyond the imagination of Warburg. Metabolic reprogramming involves an active change in cancer cells to adapt to their biological characteristics. Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignant tumor whose metabolic characteristics have been studied in recent years. Some drugs targeting tumor metabolism are under clinical trial. This article reviews the metabolic changes and mechanisms in thyroid cancer, aiming to find metabolic-related molecules that could be potential markers to predict prognosis and metabolic pathways, or could serve as therapeutic targets. Our review indicates that knowledge in metabolic alteration has potential contributions in the diagnosis, treatment and prognostic evaluation of thyroid cancer, but further studies are needed for verification as well.

Background: Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells and natural killer (NK) cells are employed by two different approaches to adoptive cell immunotherapy for cancer. It has been reported that adoptive cell immunotherapy could prolong the overall survival (OS) of advanced cancer patients. The introduction of agents that induce immune checkpoint blockades has improved the efficacy of immune-mediated therapy for metastatic cancers. However, the effects of combining a checkpoint inhibitor with CIK cells or NK cells to target non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)remain unknown. Methods: The present study investigated the effects of combining CIK cells with a programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor (an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody). During the expansion cultivation, the addition of the PD-1 antibody promoted CIK-mediated cytotoxicity in H1975 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Co-cultivation of CIK cells with the PD-1 antibody for 6 days induced CD3+CD56+ T cell expansion, with increases in the levels of CD107a and interferon γ (IFN-γ). Results: When NK cells were co-cultured with 5 μg/mL of an anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) mAb for 24 hours at an effector cell: target ratio of 10:1, it led to more potent cytotoxicity compared to other time points and concentrations. However, combining NK cells with the anti-PD-L1 mAb showed no significant advantages over treatment with NK cells alone. Conclusions: Our results suggest that combining CIK cells with PD-1 blockade before transfusion might improve the efficiency of CIK therapy for NSCLC patients. This effect does not seem to occur for NK cell therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to be related to different cancers and play important roles in regulating the pathological and physiological processes of numerous cancers. The aim of the current study was to identify potential prognostic long non-coding RNA biomarkers for predicting survival in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. METHODS: The clinical pathology and gene expression profiles of lung cancer were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified and patient survival analysis performed. The prognostic signature was further evaluated by functional assessment and bioinformatics analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were used to predict the function of lncRNAs and to construct a gene co-expression network relationship to predict downstream target genes with the aid of the STRING database and Cytoscape software RESULTS: lncRNA RP11-434D9.1 and FENDRR had lower expression levels in lung cancer and were associated with poor prognoses. We found that the major functions of lncRNA RP1-434D9.1 and FENDRR were related to the cell cycle, and we further screened out the possible downstream target genes CDK1, CCNB1, CCNB2, CCNA1, AURKA, PLK1. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA RP11-434D9.1 and FENDRR can be used as molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. These dysregulated lncRNAs might negatively regulate cell cycle through the hub genes, which then affected cancer cell proliferation. These results may provide new ideas for further clinical research for markers used for lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis. FUNDING STATEMENT: This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81672270); Key project of Guangzhou Science Technology and Innovation Committee (201707020042); Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (201803010024); Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (2017B020226005); Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (201903010003). Clinical Research Startup Program of Southern Medical University by High-level University Construction Funding of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education (LC2016PY013); Scientific Research Projects of Wu Jieping Medical Research Foundation (320.6750.17206). DECLARATION OF INTERESTS: The authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist. ETHICS APPROVAL STATEMENT: Every specimen was anonymously handled based on ethical standards. All participants provided signed informed consent and our study had full approval from the hospital’s Ethical Review Committee.

Several studies have shown potent antineoplastic effects of tea, which can induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation of cancer cells. Yellow tea is one of the six major types of tea, and yellowing time, a key factor in its processing, is known to improve its quality and bioactivity. However, the effects of yellowing on the composition of the bioactive substances of tea are poorly understood. We analyzed the biochemical composition and the antioxidant and anticancer activities of the extracts of yellow tea (EYTs) subjected to different yellowing durations. Prolonged yellowing increased the content of water extracts, amino acids, soluble sugars, theaflavins, and nonesterified catechins (p < 0.05, p < 0.01) and decreased that of polyphenols, flavonols, thearubigins, caffeine, GA, and esterified catechins (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). In addition, yellowing also slightly increased the antioxidant capacity of the EYTs, but did not significantly affect their ability to inhibit the proliferation of the hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. Mechanistically, the EYTs significantly downregulated the phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT and upregulated the Bax/Bcl‐2 ratio in the HepG2 cells. Taken together, the yellowing time influences the bioactive components of yellow tea, and the resulting yellow tea may have more potent antioxidant and anticancer effects.

The carrier gas flow field plays a vital role in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process of two dimensional (2D) MoS2 crystal, which was studied by simulations and experiments. Different carrier gas flow fields were studied by utilizing three types of precursor carrier which affected the local gas flow field significantly. The experiment results showed that the appropriate precursor vapor concentration could be achieved by local carrier gas flow field conditioning, resulting in single 2D MoS2 crystals of a large size and a high coating rate of 2D MoS2 crystal on the target substrate surface. The carrier gas flow also contributed to the growth of the 2D MoS2 crystal when it flew towards the target surface. The size of deposited single 2D MoS2 crystal reached tens of micrometers and a few layers of 2D MoS2 crystal were characterized and confirmed.

Promoting grain growth and optimizing microstructure are valid strategies for enhancing gyromagnetic and microwave dielectric properties of low-temperature sintered ferrite materials. Here, a modified low-temperature sintering technique was attempted for the synthesis of LiZnTi ferrites that have compact microstructure and improved performances. Trace amounts of CuO-Bi2O3 mixtures (0.50 wt%) were adopted as sintering additives to promote grain growth and to reduce the sintering temperature. Meanwhile, Li0.42Zn0.27Ti0.11Fe2.2O4 nanoparticles (∼21.9 nm) were synthesized using a sol-gel auto-combustion method and were used to optimize the microstructure and to restrain abnormal grain growth. XRD Rietveld refinement and SEM images revealed that uniform and dense LiZnTi ferrites with single-phase spinel structure were obtained. Results demonstrated that co-doping of Li0.42Zn0.27Ti0.11Fe2.2O4 nanoparticles and CuO-Bi2O3 mixtures allows low-temperature sintering (900 °C) to be achieved and also promotes grain growth and densification. In particular, LiZnTi ferrites that were modified with 5.00 wt% Li0.42Zn0.27Ti0.11Fe2.2O4 nanoparticles and 0.50 wt% CuO-Bi2O3 sintering additives exhibited narrow ferromagnetic resonance linewidth (ΔH, ∼145 Oe) and low dielectric loss tangent (tanδe, ∼2.45 × 10−4) at ∼9.50 GHz, high saturation flux density (Bs, ∼364 mT), and high squareness ratio (Br/Bs, ∼0.89). Such a modified sintering technique at a low sintering temperature, as reported in this work, provides a reference for other advanced ferrites.

Two-dimensional material-based photodetectors (PDs) show great potential owing to unique optoelectronic characteristics and attract much attention in research. However, poor absorption of two-dimensional material remains a vital restriction. Responsivity improvement by applying Au nanoparticles (NPs) through surface plasmon (SP) is studied both in theory and simulation. The effect of size and NPs distribution density is analyzed concerning absorption promotion and fabrication feasibility. Both absorption spectrum and inner electric field are studied. A novel face-to-face PD is proposed that performs better in visible range. The results can be helpful in two-dimensional material PD design and fabrication where high responsivity is required.

Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM) in transit microenvironments (TMEs), which mainly comes from traffic emissions, is associated with various adverse health effects. Many studies have investigated the exposure levels and health risk to commuters in TMEs; however, the application of spatial techniques has been limited to a handful of in-transit studies, and information on spatiotemporal variations of in-transit particle concentrations remains sparse. This study aims to examine spatiotemporal variations of in-cabin particle concentrations in transit and the correlations between en-route environmental factors and the variations of particle concentrations in transit. To this end, we propose a portable monitoring system for measuring the particle concentrations and corresponding travel conditions on public transit trips. The measurements were performed during peak hours of both bus and metro services in Shenzhen China. Our results highlight that temporal variations of particle concentrations exist between different trips during the same peak hours. The particle concentrations are higher on the start/end segments of the routes than on any other segment. The variations in particle concentrations on different route segments are significantly correlated with travel conditions (p

With a bipolar pulse power, wear-resistant ceramic coatings with high micro-hardness were in-situ fabricated on 2A50 aluminum alloy using micro-arc oxidation method in silicate electrolyte. The effect of cathodic voltage on microstructure, phase structure, micro-hardness and wear properties was investigated by changing cathodic voltage from 0 to −200 V. The phase structure, microstructure, micro-hardness and wear resistance were determined by XRD, SEM, HVS-1000 Vicker's micro-hardness tester and tribology tester. The results show that the phase of the obtained coatings is mainly composed of γ-Al2O3. The coating consists of the inner dense layer and the outer loose layer. As the cathodic voltage increases, the quantity and size of the micro-pores in the coatings first decrease and then increase. Micro-arc oxidation can greatly strengthen 2A50 aluminum alloy, the micro-hardness increases from 75 HV0.5 to 1321 HV0.5 after a micro-arc oxidation under a cathodic voltage of −100 V. The friction coefficient of the ceramic coatings are in the range of 0.35–0.55, and the coating obtained under −100 V exhibits the best wear resistance. The wear mechanism is deduced to be the combination of abrasive and adhesive wear.

Proceedings 18th International Symposium on Flow Visualization

Benefits of subdividing small-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (sDTC) by tumor size are controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate whether tumor size is associated with prognosis of sDTC. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched from their inception to September 2018. The identified studies according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria were analyzed using fixed/random-effects models. Data were calculated and results of the meta-analysis were expressed as odd ratio (OR). sDTC was classified as S1 (≤1 cm) and S2 (>1 cm and ≤2 cm). A systematic analysis was performed to compare the difference of recurrence, survival and clinicopathological factors between the two subgroups of sDTC (S1 vs. S2). A total of 21 studies published between 2004 and 2017 enrolling 219,291 patients were included. Findings showed that, S2 was associated with higher recurrence risk compared with S1 (OR=1.575, 95% CI=1.428–1.738; P

Hierarchically porous SiO

To improve the survival rate of aerial vehicle in battlefield, a method that provides multiple alternative routes for it to choose and replace is proposed. For this problem, threat models of aerial vehicles are built to generate the basic cost functions of route planning. Then, a new strategy named exclusion mechanism is introduced to improve K-means clustering, which improves the variety of solutions and contributes to high routes' spatial dispersion. Thanks to the improved K-means clustering, the routes can be classified owing to their distribution in space. Finally, to enhance the efficiency of solving, particle swarm optimization(PSO) is chosen to make the algorithm adaptable. The simulation compares the proposed algorithm with a related one, which proves that, unaffected by subjectivity of artificial planning, the improved algorithm can finish multiple route planning quickly and meet the demand of pre-route-planning in actual combat.