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This study aimed to elucidate the effects and potential mechanisms of dioscin on chronic prostatitis (CP) in vivo and in vitro. CP models were constructed in vivo and in vitro and treated with different concentrations of dioscin. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to investigate the morphology of the prostate tissues. The concentration of inflammatory factors in prostate tissues was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The release of reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and catalase was measured using detection kits. P69 cell proliferation was assessed by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide. Furthermore, the activity of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway was determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction or Western blot assay. Histopathological data suggested that dioscin exerted protective effects against prostate morphological changes. Dioscin inhibits inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress (OS) in prostate tissues in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, dioscin notably inhibited the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in CP rats. In vitro, dioscin remarkably reduced lipopolysaccharide-induced P69 proliferation, inflammation, OS, and TLR4/NF-κB pathway activation in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, dioscin exerts a protective effect in CP by decreasing the inflammatory response and OS through the TLR4/NF-κB pathways. Our findings provide a novel latent therapy for dioscin for the treatment and prevention of CP.

ObjectiveTo identify high-risk factors and high-risk process of nosocomial infection， and then take targeted prevention and control measures to improve nosocomial infection management.MethodsWe identified and determined the risk factors associated with nosocomial infection by using an expert brainstorming method， and then conducted risk assessment of the factors in the outcomes and process by using a semi-quantitative method.ResultsA total of 31 experts participated in the risk factor assessment. Risk assessment scores showed that nosocomial infection due to multi-drug resistant bacteria was the highest risk in the outcomes of nosocomial infection. Lack of isolation for airborne/droplet transmission， needle/sharp instrument injury， inadequate identification of infection risk and response measures in construction engineering， and insufficient implementation of infection control system were extremely high risk factors in the process of nosocomial infection.ConclusionPrevention and control should be strengthened on multi-drug resistant bacteria and catheter-related infections. The role of multidisciplinary team （MDT） in the prevention and control of nosocomial infection should be enhanced in medical practice. Risk assessment may facilitate the resource allocation and improve hand hygiene behavior.

Acoustic black hole (ABH), as a new wave manipulation technique, shows excellent applications in vibration and noise reduction of structures. Nowadays, most ABHs use materials with a fixed elastic modulus, limiting their low-frequency performance. Herein ABH plates with variable elastic modulus (VM-ABH) is designed, and its vibration and acoustic radiation characteristics are investigated by using numerical analysis. The results show that the vibration response of VM-ABH has a decrease of 5–13.2 dB relative to that of the uniform texture ABH (UT-ABH) in the frequency range of 10–5000 Hz, and the degree of energy aggregation is significantly improved. Moreover, the sound pressure level was reduced by 3.6 dB. Meanwhile, by linearly varying the elastic modulus in the center region of the VM-ABH, the effects of gradient index and terminal elastic modulus on the damping characteristics and dynamic response are revealed. The research results provide new objects for the study of vibration and noise reduction of ABH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present experiment, two types of water-reducing agents, naphthalene (FDN) and polycarboxylic acid (PCE), were selected, and their effects on the mechanical properties of foamed phosphogypsum were evaluated. It was shown that when the water-reducing agent contents were increased, the strength of the foamed phosphogypsum first increased and then gradually decreased, and that the dry density of the foamed phosphogypsum first decreased and then gradually increased. The FDN samples had better mechanical properties and a lower dry density than the PCE samples. The effect of the water-reducing agent dose on the apparent viscosity and shear stress of the phosphogypsum slurries was in the order of 0% > 0.4% > 0.3% > 0.5% > 0.2% > 0.1%. The apparent viscosity and shear stress of the gypsum slurry mixed with 0.4% FDN or PCE were the highest. FDN and PCE both enlarged the pore size distribution range, increased the size and proportion of large pores, and decreased the total pore content of foamed phosphogypsum; however, the effect of PCE was more significant. The foamed phosphogypsum slurry mixed with 0.4% FDN had the highest total pore content. Among the samples, the total pore content of foamed phosphogypsum A was able to reach 91% and the total pore content of foamed phosphogypsum B reached 77%; the lowest proportion of large pores for foamed phosphogypsum A and B separately reached 17% and 7%, respectively. The water-reducing agents mainly reduced the water consumption of the phosphogypsum slurries; improved the viscosity and shear stress of the slurries; affected the stability of the foam in the gypsum slurries; influenced the pore size and distribution in the foamed phosphogypsum samples; and caused a difference in the strength and dry density of the foamed phosphogypsum samples. The viscosity of the gypsum slurry doped with 0.4% FDN better matched that of the foam; therefore, it had the highest macro-strength and the lowest dry density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the thickness of the frozen shaft and avoid shaft cracking caused by hydration heat of mass concrete, C100 high-performance concrete is adopted as the deep shaft material in the west air shaft of Zhaogu No.2 mine. After multiple and multi-site comparison of raw materials, P.II52.5 portland cement, basalt gravel with compressive strength of 148 MPa, mechanism sand without fineness modulus of 2.8 and low-temperature early-strength collapse-protected polycarbarate high-performance water reducer were determined as the raw materials for C100 high-performance concrete. By mixture ratio test, the C100 concrete cement∶ sand∶ gravel∶ admixture∶ mineral powder∶ water∶ water reducing agent is 395∶600∶1 100∶120∶100∶105∶29. Ultimately, no cracks appeared in the borehole wall of C100 freezing section, which ensured good performance of pressure bearing and water sealing. After 28 days of shaft lining casting, field sampling was conducted to measure the strength. The test results showed that the C100 high-performance concrete reached 117% of the designed strength level, which exceeded the standard of 1.15 times of the designed strength as the minimum requirement for the concrete strength of shaft engineering.

Liability attribution for crashes involving automated vehicles (AVs), if applied improperly, is a factor which can potentially hinder acceptance. The present study investigated the impact of liability attribution on intention to buy an AV. A vignette-based survey was implemented with a hypothetical crash similar to the 2018 Uber crash (which was jointly caused by driver distraction and the malfunctioning of the automated system) leading to a pedestrian's fatality. Respondents (N = 1524) chose their preferred liability attribution, ranging from human driver exclusively liable to AV manufacturer exclusively liable. Respondents were then randomly allocated to different conditions of actual liability attribution by the local authority. These conditions were then combined into, negative misattribution (the authority assigned more liability to the human driver, compared to the respondent), positive misattribution (the authority assigned less liability to the human driver), and no misattribution. Negative misattribution negatively affected intention to buy; however, positive misattribution did not have a significant impact. The results of a multiple-mediator model indicated that negative misattribution affects intention to buy through the mediating effects of trust, negative affect, and crash acceptability. Theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban public transportation is inseparably related to people’s travel and life. Prioritizing the development of public transportation is a major national policy proposed by the Chinese government, especially to actively promote the development of intelligent public transportation systems. Developing and building advanced intelligent public transport operation and scheduling management system, designing efficient, flexible and low-cost operation and scheduling mode, improving the management level and service quality of public transport enterprises, and thus improving the road traffic condition of the whole city, is undoubtedly the future development direction of public transport enterprises. This paper combines the problems of bus operation and scheduling in China at the present stage, and proposes the operation and scheduling model and method of the intelligent urban public transportation planning system, with a view to realizing a flexible public transportation operation model suitable for different service situations and providing systematic theoretical support for solving the imbalance between supply and demand of public transportation.