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A large number of seismic observation data and macroscopic survey of earthquake damage indicate that soil site may amplify the intensity of ground-motion and thus aggravate the damage to the structures on the soil site[1]. The influence of site response on ground motion is one of the most important topics in earthquake engineering. The methods of predicting the site effects can be divided into two groups with respect to theoretical methods and empirical methods. The theoretical methods of predicting site effects are to analyse the site response to ground motion based on the theory of seismic wave propagation in which the detailed soil information is required. Whereas the empirical methods predicting the site effects by empirical prediction model which is determined using observed seismic data or ground pulsation data. According to whether the reference site is introduced, the empirical methods can be further divided into the reference site method and the non-reference site method. This article introduces in detail the principles, advantages and disadvantages of various methods of analysing site effects, which is of reference value for further research on site ground motion response.

The stochastic EXtended finite‐fault ground‐motion SIMulation algorithm (EXSIM) has been widely applied in simulating and predicting broadband strong ground‐motion. However, an increasingly number of researchers have found that EXSIM may overestimate ground‐motions at low frequencies for some large‐magnitude earthquakes and/or thrust earthquakes, for which the far‐field source model has been explained by a double‐corner‐frequency model. Despite controversy, the double‐corner‐frequency model is now being accepted as one of the main categories of the far‐field source model. This study demonstrated the limited applicability of EXSIM to earthquakes explained by the double‐corner‐frequency source model, by presenting the equivalence between motions generated by EXSIM and those generated by EXSIM's point‐source version, SMSIM, which adopts the ω‐square single‐corner‐frequency model. Furthermore, two improvements to EXSIM have been proposed: (a) the incorporation of the asperity‐distributed stress‐drop compound faults model and (b) the hybrid application of EXSIM with the proposed model. The effects of the two improvements have been verified by comparing EXSIM‐generating motions with recorded ground‐motions for the 2013 Mw 6.7 Lushan thrust earthquake. Significantly, consistent simulation accuracy has been achieved across high‐ and low‐frequency bands as well as in far‐ and near‐fields. The consistent accuracy of the improved EXSIM in simulating high‐ and low‐frequency ground motions enables its direct and independent application to broadband ground motion simulations. Moreover, the first validation of this consistent accuracy in both near‐ and far‐field scenarios further enhances its application in earthquake engineering practices. Key Points: EXtended finite‐fault ground‐motion SIMulation algorithm (EXSIM) could overestimate the low‐frequency ground motions of earthquakes with double‐corner‐frequency source model characteristicsTwo improvements to EXSIM were proposed: the asperity‐distributed stress‐drop compound faults model and the hybrid application of EXSIMThe improvements have been validated by comparing EXSIM‐generating motions with records for Mw 6.7 Lushan thrust earthquake [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the mechanism of Qiangxin Decoction treating chronic heart failure(CHF) by regulating miR-125b-5p and thus inhibiting the expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-mediated inflammatory factors in order to protect the cardiovascular endothelial progenitor cells. Methods According to the random number table method, 42 SPF-grade SD rats were divided into the control group, the model group, the Qiangxin Decoction low-dose group (7.45 g/kg), the Qiangxin Decoction medium-dose group (14.90 g/kg), the Qiangxin Decoction high-dose group (29.80 g/kg), and the sacubitril valsartan group (10.42 mg/kg), with 7 rats in each group. Except for the control group, the CHF model was established by ligating the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery in each group. Two days after modeling, the rats were treated with the corresponding drugs by gavage for 28 days. Cardiac function indexes, including left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter (LVEDd), left ventricular end-systolic internal diameters (LVEDs), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), were examined by cardiac ultrasound examination, and the pathological changes in the myocardial tissue of the left ventricle of the rats were observed by HE staining. Myocardial fibrosis was observed in each group by Masson staining. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to determine the expression of miR-125b-5p in endothelial progenitor cells of the left ventricular myocardial tissue. The protein expressions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65 in the left ventricular myocardial tissue were detected by Western blotting. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the expression of inflammatory factor tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6. Results Compared with the control group, LVEDd and LVEDs were elevated and LVEF was reduced in the model group; the pathological damage of myocardial tissue was severe with abnormal changes in the tissue structure, striated muscle became fuzzy, and cardiomyocytes were disordered in their arrangement and partially denatured and necrotic; blue collagen fibers and mucus deposition in the myocardial tissues were increased; the average optical density of miR-125b-5p was increased in the left ventricular myocardial tissue; the protein expression of BDNF was decreased, and the ratio of p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 was increased; the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, LVEDd and LVEDs were reduced, and LVEF was increased in the Qiangxin Decoction medium-, high-dose groups and the sacubitril valsartan group; the pathological damage of myocardial tissues in the left ventricle was improved, with clear striated muscle, neat and orderly arrangement of cardiomyocytes, and reduction of cellular necrosis; blue collagen fibers and mucus deposition were reduced, and myocardial fibrosis was significantly reduced; the average optical density of miR-125b-5p in the left ventricular myocardial tissue was significantly reduced; the protein expression of BDNF was increased, and the ratio of p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 was reduced; the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly reduced (P<0.05). Conclusion Qiangxin Decoction can reduce miR-125b-5p expression, inhibit the activation of NF-κB pathway, reduce the expression of the pro-inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, attenuate the myocardial inflammatory response, pathological injury and reduce myocardial fibrosis, ultimately protect the cardiovascular endothelium, and improve cardiac function to treat CHF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification of local soil conditions is important for the interpretation of structural seismic damage, which also plays a vital role in site‐specific seismic hazard analyses. In this study, we propose to classify sites as an image recognition task using a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN)‐based technique. We design the input image as a combination of the topographic slope and the mean horizontal‐to‐vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) of earthquake recordings. A DCNN model with five convolutional layers is trained using 1649 sites in Japan. The recall rates for site classes C, D, and E using our DCNN classifier for Japanese sites are 82%, 70%, and 60%, respectively. When compared with existing site classification schemes relying on predefined standard HVSR curves, our proposed method achieves the highest total accuracy rate (between 73% and 75%). The generality and applicability of our trained classifier are further validated using sites in Europe with a total accuracy between 64% and 66%. The proposed data‐driven approach could be extended to other types of site amplification functions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power terminals in the smart parks have different communication requirements under different operating conditions. The traditional one-to-one correspondence communication method can no longer meet the dynamic changes of terminal communication requirements. In response to the above problems， the paper first considers the topology structure of the power terminal communication nodes in the smart parks. Secondly， the analytic hierarchy process （AHP） decision structure is established to study the TFN-AHP （analytic hierarchy process based on triangular fuzzy numbers） and solve the attribute weights and network state values of the heterogeneous networks. Then， a network switching mechanism that meets the dynamic changes of terminal communication requirements is designed and the communication mode according to the network status value is selected. Finally， the communication network status in different scenarios in the calculation example are compared and the effectiveness of the switching mechanism is verified. The results show that the TFN-AHP method can more effectively proportionate the network resources of the smart parks and maintain the network balance.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate serum homocysteine (HCY) levels in acne patients. Methods: Acne patients (n = 124) and healthy volunteers (n = 70), matched in terms of both age and sex, were enrolled. Serum HCY levels for all subjects were measured by a clinical laboratory. Results: Serum HCY levels in male and female patients with severe and moderate acne were significantly higher than in the healthy control group (P < .05). The constituent ratio of male and female acne patients with HCY above the normal range (10 mmol/L) was significantly higher than the healthy control group. The severity of acne patients was positively correlated with serum homocysteine concentration, (P < .01). Conclusion: Hyperhomocysteinemia may be an independent risk factor for acne vulgaris. Detection of serum HCY is important for acne patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive radio (CR) is a promising technology to improve the utilisation of wireless spectrum resources. Spectrum sensing is the core functionality in CR networks (CRN). When there exist malicious users (MUs) in CRN and MUs start to attack the network after accumulating reputation to some extent, the performance is deteriorated. In this paper, a scheme is proposed by employing Orthogonalized Gnanadesikan–Kettenring (OGK) to mitigate the effect of MUs without the assistance of trusted nodes, and it can improve the robustness of CRN. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Blind parameter identification is a research topic of high importance for both military and civilian communication systems. To our knowledge, there is no report in literature on blindly recognizing the modulation of noncooperative MIMO systems in association with space-time block code where channel state information and coding matrix are unavailable. In this paper, we first present a classifier based on maximum likelihood on the condition of virtual channel matrix; second, the modulations are classified into two classes according to the independence of the source signals: independent and groupwise independent constellations. In the next step, a multidimensional independent component analysis algorithm is proposed by utilizing the block-diagonal structure of the cumulant matrices to estimate the virtual channel matrix for these two cases, respectively. Last, the ambiguities are removed partly, and the classifier is proven to be insensitive to the remaining indeterminacy. Parallel computation technique is adopted to accelerate the computation of the logarithm likelihood function. Simulations show that our algorithm can work with high recognition probabilities in noncooperative space-time block code communication systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cognitive radio is a promising technology to improve the utilization of wireless spectrum resources. Spectrum sensing is the core functionality in cognitive radio networks. In this paper, we analyse the total error probability and optimal K in “K out of N” rule over imperfect channels. Numerical evaluations illustrate that that the total error probability over imperfect reporting channel is larger than that over perfect reporting channel and the average SNR over imperfect reporting channel affects the optimal K. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

l‐carnitine is a natural compound that is indispensable for energy metabolism in mammals. The efficiency and safety of l‐carnitine in improving sperm activity, enhancing epididymal function and treating male infertility has been widely acknowledged by clinicians. CircRNAs can regulate gene expression at the transcriptional or post‐transcriptional level by serving as a molecular sponge of miRNAs with miRNA response elements. However, the detailed mechanism linking miRNA, circRNA and asthenospermia remains unclear. The present study demonstrated that hsa‐miR‐27b‐3p, hsa‐miR‐151a‐5p and hsa‐miR‐206 play an important role in the effects of l‐carnitine treatment of the spermatozoa in asthenospermia patients. Furthermore, the target mRNAs of hsa‐miR‐206 were analysed by GO and KEGG. The results show that the target mRNAs of hsa‐miR‐206 may change the activity of ATP synthase and participate in the cAMP signalling pathway and the calcium signalling pathway, which may play an important role in sperm motility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the title half-sandwich compound, [Ni(C(6)H(15)N(3))(H(2)O)(3)]Br(NO(3)), the central Ni(II) ion, lying on a threefold rotation axis, is six-coordinated by three amine N atoms from the face-capping triaza macrocycle and three water O atoms in a slightly distorted octa-hedral geometry. In the crystal, O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding and weak O-H⋯Br inter-actions associate the Ni(II) cations and the counter-ions into a three-dimensional supra-molecular network.