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To compare the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) of skin and muscle layers of "Liangqiu" (ST34) area on inflammatory muscular pain in rats, so as to study the role of different-layer afferent nerve fibers in acupuncture analgesia.A total of 120 male SD rats were used in the present study, including 8 rats used for determining the excitatory threshold of Aδ(Ta) and C (Tc) afferent nerve fibers, 48 employed for comparing the analgesic effect of EA and TEAS at intensities of Ta and Tc, and 64 for observing the effect of EA and TAES stimulation of ipsilateral (Ipsi), contralateral (Contra) ST34 and ipsilateral LI4 at Ta and Tc intensities. Inflammatory muscle pain was induced by injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the right biceps femoris muscle. In the second part of the present study, 48 rats were randomly and equally divided into control, model, TEAS-Ta, TEAS-Tc, EA-Ta and EA-Tc groups, while in the 3rd part, 64 rats were randomly and equally divided into control, model, Ipsi-ST34-TEAS, Contra-ST34-TEAS, Ipsi-ST34-EA, Contra-ST34-EA, Ipsi-LI4-TEAS and Ipsi-LI4-EA groups. TEAS or EA was applied to the skin and muscle layers, respectively. Before and after modeling, the animal was forced to stand on a bipedal equilibrator, the difference in body mass distribution of both feet (bearing difference) was used to assess the pain severity. The frequency of myoelectrical discharges of the right bicep femoris muscle in responding to electrical stimulation of the spot between the 41) The bearing difference between the bilateral hindlimbs was markedly higher in the model group than in the control group (TEAS-ST34 at Tc and EA-ST34 at both Ta and Tc can alleviate pain behavior in inflammatory pain rats, which may be related to its effect in activating the afferent nerve fiber in different layers of ST34 area.

Normally-off HEMTs have been fabricated with regrown p-GaN gate and SiNx passivation by Low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) using an AlN pre-layer, featuring a high-temperature passivation-first technique with no incompatibility issues. Through careful surface treatments, high-quality interfaces (regrown p-GaN/AlGaN and SiNx/AlGaN), as well as a stable p-GaN contact, can be achieved, enabling a robust gate operation and improved dynamic performance. The as-fabricated device exhibits a low reverse gate leakage of 2 nA/mm @ VGD = −200 V, a stable forward gate current of $10~\mu \text{A}$ /mm @ VGS = 5 V, a positive threshold voltage of +1.7 V @ ${I}_{\text {DS}} = {10}\,\,\mu \text{A}$ /mm with a high saturation current of 435 mA/mm, a high Ion/Ioff ratio of ${5}\times {10}^{10}$ , and a low Ron,d/Ron,s ratio of 1.5. The as-developed technique with the LPCVD SiNx passivation and p-GaN gate regrowth may provide a way to enhance the performance of p-GaN E-HEMTs.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is an inevitable consequence of kidney transplantation (KT). The aim of our study was to investigate the protective effect of a glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) inhibitor against cold IRI in a rat renal transplantation (RT) model and a rat cold-IRI model through the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88)/nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of the activated B cell (NF-κB) signaling pathway. We treated Sprague Dawley (SD) rats in the RT and cold-IRI models with 5 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg, respectively, of the GSK-3β inhibitor 4-benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione (TDZD-8). We then measured inflammatory factors, i.e., tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins-1β and IL-6 (IL-1β, IL-6), as well as oxidative stress markers, i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), in serum and kidneys. Renal function tests and pathological examinations were performed at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after RT or cold IRI. We measured expression of TLR4, MyD88, inhibitor of NF-κB kinase (IκB), phosphorylated IκB (p-IκB), NF-κB p65, p-p65, GSK-3β, and phosphorylated GSK-3β (p-GSK-3β) by Western blot and immunohistological staining. After intervention with the GSK-3β inhibitor, renal function was improved; oxidative stress injury was reduced; expression of p-GSK-3β was upregulated; expression of p-IκB, TLR4, MyD88, and p-p65 was downregulated; pathological damage was significantly reduced; and expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was downregulated. These results strongly suggested that GSK-3β might be a key target for the treatment of IRI in KT. The GSK-3β inhibitor inhibited phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and IκB by inhibiting the TLR/MyD88 pathway, reducing oxidative stress injury and the production of downstream inflammatory factors.

The callose synthase enzyme genes (Cals) generally plays an important role in resisting to environmental stresses as well as in regulating the microspore development of higher plant. However till now, few researches about ZmCals genes have been reported in maize. In this study, ten ZmCals genes were identified, and they are distributed on four chromosomes in maize. All ZmCals proteins contain Glucan-synthase-domain and Fks1-domain. RNA-seq data from public databases were analyzed and the result suggested that ZmCals involved in the development of various tissues, and a strong expression presented especially in young tissue. qRT-PCR analysis shown that most of ZmCals are highly expressed in root, stem and leaf at jointing stage (V6 stage) with maize inbred line B73. Seven out of 10 ZmCals genes display higher expression during maize anther development especially from stage 6 to stage 8b, the dynamic accumulation process of callose is also observed during these period with aniline blue staining. Above results indicated multiple ZmCals may participate in the deposition of callose in maize anther. Therefore, ZmCals are necessary not only for reproductive organ but also for nutritive organ during maize growth and development. This study lays certain foundation for further investigating the roles of the callose synthase enzymes genes in maize.

To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at sensitized acupoints on choline acetyltransferase positive (ChATA total of 79 male SD rats were randomized into five groups, i.e. a normal group (20 rats), a normal plus sensitized acupoint group (5 rats), a model group (34 rats), an EAThe EB extravasating areas were distributed in the segments from TThe segmental dominance (acupoints) from T

Avian leukosis virus (ALV) continues evolving to obtain new genomic characters to enhance its pathogenicity. In the present study, an ALV-J strain LH20180301 was isolated from broiler breeder chickens that reached the speak of paralyzation before 20-week-old. The necropsy chickens showed subcutaneous and muscular hemorrhage, and developed tumors in multiple organs including bone, liver, spleen, and kidney. The complete provirus was then cloned and sequenced to investigate the molecular characteristics and oncogenicity etiology of this virus associated with the outbreak of disease. The genomic structure of the reported ALV-J strain LH20180301 was highly conservative with other ALVs. Recombination events between the virus with endogenous virus were identified in the viral genome. Compared with the ALV-J original HPRS-103 strain, the major recombination sites of the viral genome with ev-1 were located in 5′ UTR-gag and 3′ UTR regions. Phylogenetic analysis of group specific antigen gp85 encoding protein showed that the LH20180301 branched with ALV-J prevalent in “yellow chickens” of local breeds in South China. Nine amino acids (N58, D60, K70, A71, K108, N112, N113, N121, R272) in the gp85 were highly conserved among ALV-J isolates before 2012, but various mutations were found in the late isolates including LH20180301. In addition, the LH20180301 strain also had the same deletion pattern of 3′ UTR with them. Therefore, LH20180301 might derive from the same ancestor with those viruses and may be the trend of ALV-J evolution in China. The defined new genomic characters in the gp85 and 3′ UTR region of ALV-J might provide the molecular basis for its enhanced oncogenicity.

In large-cities, urban rail networks usually involve more than two connected lines and passengers mostly transfer several times to reach their destinations. Thus, the coordination of train timetables in different lines has become a key issue in recent years for improving the transfer convenience of passengers. In this paper, we first propose a synchronization quality index (SQI) to qualitatively evaluate the transfer convenience of passengers, and we develop a bi-objective optimization approach for the coordination of train timetables, where the objectives are to optimize both SQI and average waiting time of passengers. We also construct a mixed integer nonlinear programming formulation by considering the time-dependent properties of passenger demand and their transfers among multiple transit lines. Further, we adopt a local search, a simulated annealing algorithm and a genetic algorithm to solve the proposed model. A real-world instance based on the passenger demand data in Beijing Metro Network is conducted to verify the effectiveness of our approach. By comparing with the current (uncoordinated) timetable in Beijing Metro, our solution can improve the value of SQI by 31.28% and reduce the passenger waiting time by 3.49 %.

To observe and compare the ameliorate effects of electroacupuncture (EA) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) with different intensities on inflammatory muscle pain, so as to confirm the role of different afferent nerve fibers in different layers (skin or muscle) in pain relief of acupuncture.The intensities of the thresholds of A (Ta) and C (Tc) were selected for TEAS and EA. TEAS and EA were applied on the layer of skin and muscle of "Liangqiu" (ST34), respectively. Forty-eight rats were randomly divided into control, model, TEAS-Ta, TEAS-Tc, EA-Ta and EA-Tc groups (After modeling, the weight difference between the hind limbs was increased markedly in the model group relevant to the control group (TEAS with Tc or EA with Ta in the muscle layer can alleviate the pain and inhibit the abnormal EMG in inflammatory muscle pain rats. It is indicated that local pain relief by acupuncture was related to the afferent nerve fiber in different layer with different intensities.

In this paper, an event-triggered control method for coordinated cruise operation of multiple high-speed trains (HSTs) is investigated. Firstly, the dynamic model of a group of ordered HSTs on the high-speed railway line is established based on the multi-agent system, and every train can communicate with its adjacent trains and adjust the speed according to the received information of neighboring trains. Afterwards, by applying the principle of event trigger and potential fields, an event-triggered control protocol for every HST is designed based on the information of its adjacent trains. Under this strategy, every train can track the desired speed of the leading train, and the controlling force of each train is merely updated when the event is triggered, the headway distance of two adjacent trains is stable within an appropriate scope. Moreover, the Lyapunov function is used to verify the system’s stability and the convergence of the control error under the event-triggered control strategy. Numerical simulations are provided to verify the validity of the proposed method.

The rapid expansions of urban rail networks are faced with the growing number of disruptions caused by the complex rail signaling systems, incorrect driving behaviors, and extreme weather. Since urban rail systems are inherently complex and many of these disruptions are usually uncertain and inevitable, the rail managers have gradually paid more attention to the ability to withstand and quickly recover. Nevertheless, only a small number of recent developments have tried to address the ability of an urban rail system to recover from disruptions while considering the inherent structures. In this work, we propose a hybrid knowledge-based and data-driven approach for quantitative analysis of resilience. The aim is to model the causal relationships to quantify the importance of different perturbations to the overall resilience criteria. A set of key features related to the risk assessment and system resilience are summarized according to the historical data in Beijing Metro. Then, we develop a training procedure based on the structure of BN and historical data. Finally, we embed this hybrid approach into software that is applied to Beijing Metro. The results demonstrate the quantitative relationships between system resilience and different types of events.

Probiotics, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ATCC53103 and Lactobacillus plantarum JL01, can improve growth performance and immunity of piglets, and relieve weaning stress-related immune disorders such as intestinal infections and inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of co-administration of the probiotics L. rhamnosus GG ATCC53103 and L. plantarum JL01 to stimulate immune responses and improve gut health during the critical weaning period in piglets. Forty-eight weaned piglets were randomly divided into four groups, and fed daily for 28 days either without, or with the two probiotics independently, or in combination. On day 28, we analyzed the cytokine and bacterial changes in intestinal mucosa and the hepatic portal vein blood metabolites of the weaned piglets. Our results showed that combined L. rhamnosus GG ATCC53103 and L. plantarum JL01 significantly increased (p 0.05) the growth performance and expression of IL-10 and TGF-β1 mRNAs. In contrast, this treatment significantly decreased (p 0.05) IL-1β mRNA level in the jejunum, ileum, and cecum. Furthermore, the secretion of IL-6 in the cecum, IL-1β in the jejunum, ileum, and cecum, and TNF-α in the jejunum and ileum was significantly decreased (p 0.05). The relative abundance of Prevotella_9 and Enterococcus in ileum and cecum was significantly increased (p 0.05). The relative abundance of Ruminococcus_1 and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 in cecum was significantly decreased (p 0.05). Prevotella_9 and Enterococcus may increase the accumulation of (4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TCDA) in portal vein blood, while Ruminococcus_1 and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 may decrease the accumulation of succinic and palmitic acids. These results indicate that L. rhamnosus GG ATCC53103 and L. plantarum JL01 may regulate cytokine levels by reducing the accumulation of succinic and palmitic acids and increasing the accumulation of TCDA and DHA, thereby enhancing the immunity of weaned piglets.

Available information on the bioaccumulation and trophodynamics of cyclic methylsiloxanes in aquatic food webs is insufficient for a reliable understanding of their toxicity and potential ecological harm. The concentrations of four cyclic methylsiloxanes in aquatic species collected from Lake Chaohu (China) were measured and the total concentration was in range of 2.01-36.1 ng/g dry weight. Dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) represented 57.7% of the total measured methylsiloxane concentration. The distribution of these methylsiloxanes constitute the first tissue-specific record. The hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D3), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) tended to accumulate preferentially in fish muscles, while D6 was preferentially accumulated in fish liver and gills. In Lake Chaohu, significant trophic magnification of D3 (p 0.01) and dilution of D6 (p 0.05) were observed, and the trophic magnification factors (TMFs) were estimated at 4.94 and 0.68, respectively. No significant trends in D4 and D5 (p 0.05) were observed within the food web. This study further confirmed the complexity of trophic transfer of the methylsiloxanes in the aquatic food web. The findings suggest that tissue-specific methylsiloxane distribution in aquatic species might also affect the observed TMFs. More research is required to investigate methylsiloxanes in additional species and their trophodynamics in different food webs.

Aims The aim of this study was to explore the potential effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at ST36 on mice bearing breast tumors by regulating inflammatory cytokines to enhance antitumor immunity via vagus nerve. Materials and methods Female BALB/c mice were implanted with 4T1-luc2 breast tumor cells to establish a murine mammary cancer model. Tumor growth was evaluated by tumor volume, weight and bioluminescence imaging. Inflammatory conditions in serum and tumor tissue were assessed by cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-10) and HE staining. Proportions and functions of CD8+ T cells, NK cells and MDSCs were identified by flow cytometry and western blot. Involvement of vagal efferent components was confirmed by ChAT and c-Fos double labeling immunohistochemistry in dorsal motor nucleus of vagus (DMV). Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy was employed to determine if the effect of EA was mediated by vagus nerve. Key findings EA at ST36 reduced the volume and weight of tumors within 22 days after implantation. Proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α in serum, tumor and local inflammatory infiltration were obviously attenuated after EA. Meanwhile, EA intervention significantly augmented the proportion and cytolytic function of CD8+ T cells and NK cells, along with a decline in the accumulation and immunosuppressive activities of MDSCs. Finally, c-Fos expression in ChAT+ neurons in DMV increased following EA, and the ameliorating effect of EA was obviously blocked by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy. Significance EA intervention relieved tumor progression in breast tumor-bearing mice by alleviating inflammation and enhancing antitumor immunity, which was mediated by eliciting efferent vagus nerve activity.

Application of the automatic train operation can efficiently reduce the energy consumption under the premise of ensuring safety and punctuality. Most of the traditional research mainly focused on solving the driving strategy with the given model or fixed parameters. To flexibly respond to the dynamic changes during the train operation, this paper proposes a data-driven based approach, specifically a reinforcement learning (RL) approach, which can optimize the train control strategy without using the prior knowledge of train dynamics and the predesigned velocity profile. The optimization objective is to minimize the energy consumption under the constraints of punctual arrival and speed restrictions. Numerous driving experiences are used to train the deep Q-network (DQN) until it approximates the optimal action-value function. The trained neural network can output the values of all actions with arbitrary input state such that the energy-efficient control strategy can be obtained according to action values. Based on the real-world data, some cases are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

In metro system, unpredictable disturbances influence the normal operation and bring much inconvenience to passengers. This paper focuses on train timetable rescheduling (TTR) problem with considering practical operations in the metro management. At first, an optimization model that takes the deviation of rescheduled timetable, the total delay time of passengers and energy consumption as objective is developed. Meanwhile, the constraints, together with some practical rescheduling rules (e.g., the preprogrammed speed profiles, train detention strategy) are introduced. Secondly, the model is reformulated into an Markov decision process (MDP) with well defining the state, action and reward function, which is then solved by the proposed Q-learning approach. Finally, some case studies using the operational data of Beijing Yizhuang Subway Line are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results indicate that a tradeoff solution among the optimization objectives can be obtained within a short time.

The zooming demand for rail transportation capacity promoted the development of virtual coupling (VC), which is a new concept to further shorten the inter-train distance. This paper proposes a cruising control approach for virtually coupled train set (VCTS) based on Model Predictive Control (MPC). optimization goals and constraints of the MPC controller are proposed to make inter-train distance maintained at a small value under the premise of safety. The stability of the controller is verified by the Lyapunov stability theory. Three scenarios, i.e., normal, disrupted and emergency scenarios, are analyzed via simulation, whose result indicates that the proposed controller is empirically stable and can regulate trains position differences. Further, compared with currently widely applied moving block system, the result shows that the train tracking interval under VC is shorter.

This paper proposes a new method for the determination of optimal control strategy with considering multiple time constraints. For the train on a level track, the optimal train control model is firstly formulated. Then, with the given control sequences, Kuhn-Tucker condition is used to deduce the necessary conditions for a strategy of optimal type and an analytical solution with the minimum energy consumption is proposed to calculate the optimal control strategy which contains the specific switching points for the given control sequence. Finally, two realistic examples will be applied to illustrate the numerical calculation procedures and prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

The effect of acupuncture-moxibustion on respiratory system and systemic immune inflammatory response were reviewed to explore the possible role of neuroimmunomodulation in the control of inflammatory response and the effect mechanism of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Acupuncture-moxibustion could produce the local and systemic anti-inflammatory effect on COVID-19 through the activation of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Compared with humoral anti-inflammatory pathway, the neuronal anti-inflammatory pathway has earlier initiation, rapider action, and more localization, which play a more important role in the initial stage of inflammatory response. This may be an important basis for acupuncture-moxibustion intervention in the early stage of COVID-19. In addition to cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, acupuncture-moxibustion may also play an anti-inflammatory role in activating sympathetic nerve, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and other neural anti-inflammatory pathways. How acupuncture-moxibustion play its role in stimulating the vagus nerve and sympathetic nerve in different periods of inflammatory response, and whether the effect is based on the selection of acupoints and the methods of stimulation, will be the research direction of the transformation from basic research to clinical research for acupuncture-moxibustion.

In this letter, a composite barrier heterostructure containing a “10-nm-thick GaN insertion” was specially designed and produced for normally-off GaN high-electron-mobility transistor. Based on this structure, a novel self-terminated gate recessing technology by thermal decomposition combined with a dry etching has been successfully developed to achieve a low density of interface states and a high uniformity across the wafer. Compared with the conventional dry etching approach, the uniformity of the gate recessing self-terminated at the bottom AlGaN surface was greatly improved with the standard deviation (Std. Dev.) reduced from 1.42 to 0.5 nm. Moreover, this technology almost completely removed the surface damage induced by the dry etching and effectively reduced the surface oxygen contamination. As a result, the frequency-dispersion of C-V characteristics has been significantly suppressed, and the density of interface states was reduced from $\sim 10^{13}$ to $10^{11}\sim 10^{12}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}^{-1}\cdot \mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}^{-2}$. This novel technology with a further optimization paves the way for preparing high performance normally-off GaN HEMTs with a gate dielectric or p-GaN gate.

Early weaning can cause intestinal disorders and dysfunction in piglets, and may induce intestinal diseases. Hippophae rhamnoides polysaccharide (HRP) has anti-inflammatory and immune promotion function. However, few studies have explored the change of differentially protein expression by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced porcine intestinal epithelial cell (IPEC-J2) after HRP pre-treatment. In this study, proteomic analysis was used to explore the essential proteins and immune-related pathways that can be regulated by LPS-induced IPEC-J2 cells after HRP pre-treatment. The results indicate that by searching the Sus scrofa database, a total of 18,768 proteins was identified. Among recognized proteins, there are 2052 (1720 up-regulated and 332 down-regulated), 358 (262 up-regulated and 96 down-regulated) and1532 (314 up-regulated and 1218 down-regulated) proteins expressed differently in C vs. L, C vs. H6-L and L vs. H6-L, respectively. The Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG) analysis divided the identified proteins into 23 categories. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that cellular process, cell, cell part, organelle and binding were the most enriched pathways for differentially expressed proteins. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the top 20 pathways in the L-vs-H6-L group related to immunity were the Tight junction, MAPK signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, rap1 signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, Ras signaling pathway and Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis. Moreover, we also found 42 key proteins related to these immune pathways in this study. Additionally, western blotting analyses confirmed that LPS reduced the levels of claudin2 (CLDN2), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and increased phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK7), phosphorylated transcription factor p65 (RELA), phosphorylated nuclear factor NF-kappa-B p105 subunit (NF-κB1) and phosphorylated nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells 2 (NF-κB2). Pre-treatment with HRP increased the levels of CLDN2, IGF2 and reduced the levels of the phosphorylated MAPK7, phosphorylated RELA, phosphorylated NF-κB1 and phosphorylated NF-κB2 in cells. These results also showed that HRP alleviated LPS-induced inflammation in IPEC-J2 cells by inhibiting the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway and its related differentially expressed proteins.

The simulation of railway systems plays a key role in designing the traction power supply network, managing the train operation, and making changes to timetables. Various simulation technologies have been developed to study the railway traction power network and train operation independently. However, the interactions between the load performance, train operation, and fault conditions are not fully understood. This paper proposes a mathematical modeling method to simulate the railway traction power network with a consideration of a multi-train operation, driving controls, under-voltage traction, and substation fault modes. The network voltage, power load demands, and energy consumption according to the existing operation are studied. The hotspots of the power supply network are identified based on an evaluation of the train operation and power demand. The impact of traction power substation (TPSS) outage and a short circuit on the power supply network have been simulated and analyzed. The simulation results have been analyzed and compared with those of a normal operation. A case study based on a practical metro line in Singapore is developed to illustrate the power network evaluation performance.

H9N2 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) is widely prevalent in poultry, and the virus is becoming adaptive to mammals, which poses pandemic importance. Here, BALB/c mice were employed as a model to evaluate the adaption in mammals of 21 field H9N2 viruses isolated from avian species between 2016 to 2019 in China. The replication capacity of the viruses was evaluated in the lungs of mice. The pathogenicity of the viruses were compared by weight loss and lung lesions from infected mice. The whole genomic sequences of the viruses were further characterized to define the associated phenotypes of the H9N2 viruses in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that most viruses could replicate well and cause lesions in the mouse lungs. The propagation capacity in MDCK cells and damage to respiratory tissues of the infected mice corresponded to relative viral titers in the mouse lungs. Further genome analysis showed that all of the H9N2 viruses belonged to the same genotype, G57, and contained a couple of amino acid substitutions or deletions that have been demonstrated as avian-human markers. Additionally, nine amino acids residues in seven viral proteins were found to be correlated with the replication phenotypes of the H9N2 viruses in mammals. The study demonstrated that a well-defined H9N2 AIV genotype with high adaption in mammals was prevalent in China in recent years. Further investigations on the role of the identified residues and continuous surveillance of newly identified mutations associated with host adaption should be strengthened to prevent any devastating human influenza pandemics.

Background and Purpose: The role of the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumor progression has been studied, but its exact regulatory mechanism remains unknown. Methods: The interaction between COMP and the actin-binding protein transgelin (TAGLN) was identified by interaction protein prediction and co-immunoprecipitation and verified through the stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and duolink experiments. Western blot and immunofluorescence analyses were conducted to detect the changes in EMT-related markers after COMP overexpression and knockdown. Molecular docking and Biacore of the interaction interface of COMP/TAGLN revealed that Chrysin directly targeted COMP. The promotion of COMP and the Chrysin inhibition of EMT were detected through the cell migration, invasion, apoptosis, and xenotransplantation of nude mice. Results: COMP interacts with TAGLN in EMT in colorectal cancer to regulate cytoskeletal remodeling and promote malignant progression. COMP is highly expressed in highly malignant colorectal cancer and positively correlated with TAGLN expression. COMP knockdown can inhibit colorectal cancer metastasis and invasion, whereas COMP overexpression promotes EMT in colorectal cancer. Through virtual screening of the protein interaction interface, Chrysin, a flavonoid compound extracted from Oroxylum indicum, was found to have the highest docking score to the COMP/TAGLN complex. Chrysin inhibited COMP, thereby preventing EMT and the malignant progression of colorectal cancer. Conclusions: This study illustrated the role of COMP in EMT and suggested that COMP/TAGLN may be a potential tumor therapeutic target. Chrysin exhibits obvious antitumor effects. This work provides a preliminary antitumor therapy to target COMP or its interaction protein to inhibit EMT.

A high temperature is produced in the process of precision milling of titanium alloy, and the cutting temperature can be effectively reduced by placing a micro-texture on the tool surface. In order to study the milling temperature of micro-textured ball-end milling cutter in milling titanium alloy under the combined action of a blunt radius with different edges and a micro-texture with different parameters, a new method based on micro-element theory and the generation and transmission of cutting heat has been established. At the same time, the influence of different radii of blunt edges on the milling temperature is simulated by the finite element method and experimentally verified to explore the influence of different radii of a blunt edge and micro-texture parameters on the milling temperature. Taking the milling temperature as the evaluation index, the optimum parameters of micro-circular pit texture are as follows: the diameter of micro-circular pit is 40 micron, pit spacing is 225 micron, distance from cutting edge is 100 microns, and radius of the blunt edge is 60 microns.

This experimental study presents the rheological properties and strength characteristics of cemented unclassified tailings backfill (CUTB). The particle size distribution and chemical properties of tailings from the Shizhuyuan lead-zinc mine were examined experimentally. A series of rheological properties and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted to study the relations between the rheological properties of CUTB and two factors of cement-tailings ratio (c/t) and solid content (SD). The two-factor nonrepetitive analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used to study the sensitivity of rheological properties to two factors of c/t and SD. Relations between UCS performance of CUTB and c/t, SD, and curing time (CT) were discussed. Results indicate that CUTB samples exhibit obvious shear thinning characteristics and the rheological process is the result of multiple rheological model composites. Yield stress and viscosity of CUTB increase with the increase of SD and c/t as quadratic. The solid content is the most important factor for the rheological properties of CUTB, followed by c/t. UCS of CUTB increases exponentially with the increase of SD and increases with c/t as quadratic. The larger the ratio of c/t, the greater the influence of the CT on the increasing strength of CUTB. The smaller the c/t, the slower the increase of the CUTB’s strength with the increase of the SD. The findings of this study can provide the efficient mix proportion of backfill slurry for the backfill mining design, so as to have better performance of the underground mining structure and reduce the cost of backfill mining.

The development of human society is inseparable from energy. The exploration of urban energy metabolism plays an essential role in improving sustainable development. Combing input-output analysis with ecological network analysis help academics to shed light into the complicated system interactions and interior energy flows. In this study, using Guangdong as a case study, the Energy Ecological Network model is developed to account for the intensity of the embodied energy consumption using monetary input-output tables from 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2012. Sectors and energy flows are treated as nodes and paths to compile the corresponding physical input-output tables, which can facilitate a more comprehensive and balanced understanding of urban energy consumption by integrating various accounting perspectives. In detail, network control analysis is extended to reveal inter relationships and relative contribution rate of each sector. Network utility analysis gives an overall consideration of the dynamic changes in energy metabolism relations from multiple perspective. Furthermore, the modified robustness method penetrates into how each sector affects the stability of the system. The results show that the energy metabolic level in Guangdong is relatively low and indirect flows are the key to improving the system efficiency. The advanced manufacturing (AM) sector relied on other sectors in energy trade and have limited reciprocal relationships in the study period. Therefore, it is urgent to adjust the external structure and internal circulation of AM sector. The comprehensive dynamic analysis will give a scientific support to guide the development of energy reform in an attempt to promoting healthier development of energy metabolism system.

Magnetic ferrite/biochar composites are a kind of promising adsorbents due to their high adsorption efficiency and facile magnetic separation; however, their synthesis is associated with high cost and secondary environmental impacts. In this study, a novel Mn-Zn ferrite/biochar composite (MZF-BC) is synthesized via a green two-step biocheaching and hydrothermal method using waste batteries and pine sawdust. Characterization results indicate that the introduced Mn-Zn ferrite particles are successfully embedded and coated on biochar (BC), and synthesized MZF-BC

Purpose - The idea of the book ‘Stephen Covey’’s The 7 Habits of highly effective people (1991)’ can be a guideline for developing the individual...

Background Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker of systemic inflammation. However, its predictive utility of 30-day mortality remains elusive in decompensated cirrhotics. Aims We aimed to combine NLR and other variables associated with early mortality of cirrhotics with acute insults in to a predictive nomogram. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 352 decompensated cirrhotics. The 30-day mortality was regarded as primary outcome. Multivariate Cox analysis was performed, and a NLR-based nomogram was developed. The performance of nomogram was determined in terms of its calibration, discrimination and clinical usefulness. Serum cytokines were evaluated by Milliplex cytokine assay. Results On multiple analysis, independent factors for early mortality were albumin, MELD and NLR, which were all selected into the nomogram. The nomogram showed good discrimination, with a concordance index of 0.88. Calibration of the nomogram predicted survival corresponding optimally with the actual outcomes. Decision curve analysis indicated our nomogram was useful in clinical practice. Among circulating cytokines we investigated, IL-6 and IL-8 were substantially elevated in cirrhotics compared to healthy subjects. High NLR was positively correlated with the expression of IL-6 and IL-8. Conclusion The proposed nomogram incorporating NLR offered an individualized predictive tool for 30-day mortality in decompensated cirrhotics. The escalating value of NLR likely implicated excessive inflammatory response.

Purpose - This paper mainly studied the role of the logistics legal system in promoting international transport logistics, building marine economy...

The aim of this investigation was to study the formation of white etching layer (WEL) induced by rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in a bearing steel. Through sectioning a failed bearing, the microstructure of the WEL was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and micro indentation test. The result showed that the WEL is harder than the matrix. It consists of refined grains of martensite, austenite and carbides. In contrast to the thermally-induced WELs, where the austenite is the result of phase transformation due to austenitization, the austenite in the WELs of the current study comes from the original retained austenite. No phase transformation occurred, indicating that the WEL was formed under deformation induced the mechanism. WELs and white etching areas (WEAs) were compared in detail. The result suggested that WELs and WEAs are actually the similar responses to large shear deformation in RCF of martensitic bearing steels.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) represent a promising emerging technology for organic waste treatment and bioelectricity could be obtained simultaneously. In order to effectively develop the resource and energy in dairy manure, two-compartment MFC using dairy manure as main substrate (DMMFC) were proposed and the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on the electricity generation of DMMFC was studied comprehensively. The results showed that when the ultrasonic power for the pretreatment of dairy manure was 600 W, DMMFC showed the highest closed-circuit voltage (CCV) of 212 mV at solid content of 10%. With external loading of 1000 Ω, the power densities reached 29.9 mW/m2, 56.2 mW/m2, 102 mW/m2 and 72.6 mW/m2 at the ultrasonic power of 0, 300, 600, and 900 W, respectively. The maximum current density arrived 102 mA/m2 on the 14th day when the dairy manure was treated 20 min under the ultrasonic of 600 W. After 203 d, removal rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD) arrived 74.6%, and the energy of over 10.5 kJ/kg (dry manure) was obtained.

In China, the finance institution is more concerned about the city than the rural for a long time. Even the rural banks, such as China Agriculture...

This paper addresses the distributed optimization problem of discrete-time multiagent systems with nonconvex control input constraints and switching topologies. We introduce a novel distributed optimization algorithm with a switching mechanism to guarantee that all agents eventually converge to an optimal solution point, while their control inputs are constrained in their own nonconvex region. It is worth noting that the mechanism is performed to tackle the coexistence of the nonconvex constraint operator and the optimization gradient term. Based on the dynamic transformation technique, the original nonlinear dynamic system is transformed into an equivalent one with a nonlinear error term. By utilizing the nonnegative matrix theory, it is shown that the optimization problem can be solved when the union of switching communication graphs is jointly strongly connected. Finally, a numerical simulation example is used to demonstrate the acquired theoretical results.

We put forward a novel strategy for joining zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramics using whiskers reinforced borosilicate glasses for high-temperature (HT) applications. Herein, the robust joining of ZTA ceramics by using B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 (BAS) glasses as an interlayer was achieved in air at 1400 °C. The Al18B4O33 whiskers were generated in the joining seam during the joining process, thus strongly improving the HT strength. The flexural strength of the joint after the thermal cycle test at 1200 °C could still reach 84 % of that at room temperature (RT). The joining mechanism was mainly addressed from the perspective of the in-situ growth of whiskers.

With the ever-increasing operating mileage of urban rail transit systems, a large amount of energy is consumed for train operation, and the energy-saving for train operation has become an attractive topic in the research community in recent years. In order to minimize the net energy consumption (i.e., the difference between the traction energy and the reused regenerative energy), an energy-efficient train operation method using the cooperative control approach is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a set of mathematical models for the cooperative control are formulated with considering the transmission mechanism of regenerative energy. Then, a multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm is designed to obtain the cooperative driving strategy for trains. In this algorithm, the global Q-function is decomposed into several local Q-functions by using value function factorization method. A proposed update method is applied to update the local Q-functions according to the transmission mechanism of regenerative energy. Finally, the case studies built upon a metro line is performed to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. According to the simulation results, the net energy consumption is reduced by more than 11.1% compared to the method in which the driving strategy of each train is independently optimized.

Research on the overall social, economic and environmental (SEE) impacts of water resources projects (WRP) has gradually attracted attention. However, the WRP-related indirect impacts as linked through various supply chains from a number of disaggregated sectors and their interactive relationship are rarely studied. Here in this study, under a general disaggregated input-output (IO) framework, a distributive Three Gorges Project input-output (DTGIO) model is developed to investigate the composite effects of Three Gorges Project (TGP) based on a disaggregated TGP-IO table for the Yangtze River economic belt (YREB). DTGIO model could facilitate exploring i) the interactions among key TGP-related effects from production and consumption sides; ii) the impacts of various TGP-induced changes on specific SEE sectors; iii) the detailed TGP water flow paths as induced by the final demand of each province in YREB. It is discovered that the TGP has the greatest impact on agriculture. Although the construction of the TGP submerged a large amount of land and adversely affected agriculture in the reservoir area, its effective flood control function can reduce flooding in the “land of fish and rice” and create favorable conditions for agricultural development. The connection between the TGP and the inner provinces of YREB is mainly realized by the hydropower generation sector. For the economic benefits of the TGP, the economic benefits of the investment of various sectors of the TGP are diversified, which should be adjusted according to the government's objectives. For the ecological effects of the TGP, the interaction of sectors (especially the irrigation service sector and hydropower generation sector on consumption side, and the hydropower generation sector and water supply sector on production side) should be valued and a sense of joint management for the relevant sectors of TGP should be established.