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Because of the complexities of tire-road interaction, the wheels of a multi-wheel distributed electric drive vehicle can easily slip under certain working conditions. As wheel slip affects the dynamic performance and stability of the vehicle, it is crucial to control it and coordinate the driving force. With this aim, this paper presents a driving force coordination control strategy with road identification for eight-wheeled electric vehicles equipped with an in-wheel motor for each wheel. In the proposed control strategy, the road identification module estimates tire-road forces using an unscented Kalman filter algorithm and recognizes the road adhesion coefficient by employing the recursive least-square method. According to road identification, the optimal slip ratio under the current driving condition is obtained, and a controller based on sliding mode control with a conditional integrator uses this value for acceleration slip regulation. The anti-slip controller obtains the adjusting torque, which is integrated with the driver-command-based feedforward control torque to implement driving force coordination control. The results of hardware-in-loop simulation show that this control strategy can accurately estimate tire-road forces as well as the friction coefficient, and thus, can effectively fulfill the purpose of driving force coordinated control under different driving conditions.

There is currently no drug or therapy that can cure the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is highly contagious and can be life-threatening in severe cases. Therefore, seeking potential effective therapies is an urgent task. An older female at the Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, with a severe case of COVID-19 with significant shortness of breath and decrease in peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), was treated using manual acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine granule formula Fuzheng Rescue Lung with Xuebijing Injection in addition to standard care. The patient's breath rate, SpO2, heart rate, ratio of neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR), ratio of monocyte/lymphocyte (MLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and chest computed tomography were monitored. Acupuncture significantly improved the patient's breathing function, increased SpO2, and decreased her heart rate. Chinese herbal medicine might make the effect of acupuncture more stable; the use of herbal medicine also seemed to accelerate the absorption of lung infection lesions when its dosage was increased. The combination of acupuncture and herbs decreased NLR from 14.14 to 5.83, MLR from 1.15 to 0.33 and CRP from 15.25 to 6.01 mg/L. These results indicate that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, as adjuvants to standard care, might achieve better results in treating severe cases of COVID-19.

Permeable pavements are a common solution for stormwater management. Porous areas in the pavements allow water to percolate into the subsurface layers, reducing surface runoff. However, it is common for substances to clog the voids, decreasing the porous area and permeability of the pavement system. This study examined the change in permeability over time at a site with two permeable pavement systems, the JW Eco-technology (JW) and pervious concrete (PC). Square frames SF-4 and SF-9 were used to perform falling-head and constant-head permeability tests, respectively. Results show that JW had a similar permeability across the test locations, 6.27–7.64 cm/s when using SF-4, and 0.95–1.00 cm/s when using SF-9. While the permeability at the center locations of PC showed no significant loss of permeability, there was a significant reduction of permeability on the corner and edge areas, where permeability ranged 0.28–1.73 cm/s using SF-4 and 0.14–0.36 cm/s using SF-9, suggesting the occurrence of clogging over time at corner locations. Furthermore, the measured values highlighted the measurement variability in permeability between the falling-head based method and the constant-head method, with measurements from SF-4 being approximately 6.2–7.6 and 2.0–5.7 times higher than those from SF-9 on JW and PC, respectively. In addition, as no current literature quantifies the relationship between permeability and extent of clogging for the JW Eco-technology pavement, evaluation of the proportionate change in permeability with respect to voids, or individual aqueducts, of JW pavement were investigated. While not a 1:1 linear relationship, data indicate that the permeability increased with an increase in non-blocked aqueducts. The JW pavement maintained more than 50% of its capacity when half of the aqueducts were fully blocked. Even when only one aqueduct was clear from clogging, the system had 36% (SF-4) and 19% (SF-9) of maximum permeable capacity.

Social interaction acts as a key motivation for playing online games; however, some players engage in in-game intra-group aggressive behavior, such as swearing, ignoring, and sabotaging their teammates. This study uses the motivation theory and techniques of the neutralization theory to understand this phenomenon in the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. A partial least squares analysis conducted on the data collected from 221 League of Legends players revealed three types of aggressive acts: psychological, passive, and active. Psychological acts have the least negative impact on victory, while passive and active acts have the greatest negative impact. Players’ achievement, immersion, and social motivations have limited contribution to aggressive acts. Those engaging in psychological acts deploy many neutralization techniques to justify their actions, while players who only engage in active acts employ a very limited set of neutralization techniques. Thus, this study contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon that deviates from the MOBA norm of intra-team co-operation and cohesion through the techniques of the neutralization theory.

Permeable pavements have the ability to reduce surface runoff by allowing water to infiltrate into the underlying soil. The potential of permeable pavements to assist in managing stormwater and improve water quality has gained attention as an option, other than conventional impermeable concrete for paving purposes. This study examined the permeability of three different pavement systems, including the JW Eco-technology pavement (JW), which has not previously been installed or studied in the U.S., standard impermeable concrete (IC), and pervious concrete (PC). Each pavement type was installed in triplicate. Devices based on the ASTM C1701/C1701M and ASTM C1781/C1781M constant-head methods, the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) falling-head permeameter, and two new square frames, SF-4 and SF-9, modified to fit the JW pavement, were utilized for permeability measurement on several locations of each pavement system. The results showed that the JW Eco-technology pavement had comparable permeability to the commonly used PC pavement in each method used. In addition, there was a strong correlation between the permeability measurements of NCAT method and SF-4, and between the ASTM standard and SF-9. The square frames used in this study showed their effectiveness and efficiency in performing permeability measurements. It was also found that the permeability obtained had a pronounced difference in values between the falling head and the constant head methods, with an average ratio ranging from 4.08&ndash, 6.36.

Objective: To observe the application value of magnetic resonancetomographic angiography (MRTA) in the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia with Adriamycin and to explore its pathogenesis. Methods: A total of 53 cases of primary trigeminal neuralgia without aberrant blood vessels oppressed trigeminal nerve were screened out by MRTA and was treated with Adriamycin. Another 62 former cases with primary trigeminal neuralgia treated by Adriamycin served as control. The treating efficacy and the recurrence rate of 3 and 6 months past were observed. Results: The efficacy of two groups after 14 d showed no difference. The recurrence rates of the observation group was significantly lower than the control on the both. Conclusions: The patients without trigeminal nerve oppressed by aberrant blood vessels by MRTA screening show low in recurrence rate and part of them seems to have self-healing mechanism.

OBJECTIVE To select appropriate descriptors for response of the patient-reported outcome (PRO) scale for the main symptoms of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) complicated with pulmonary heart disease. METHODS A cross-sectional investigation was carried out. Five equidistant ordinal descriptive words in the PRO scale of main symptoms for COPD complicated with pulmonary heart disease were selected. There were 32 alternative words in the questionnaire. Thirty respondents were required to place each descriptive word on a 10-centimeter line according to where they considered each descriptive word should be placed. Then, the line was measured by ruler; average, standard deviation and median were calculated by excel software; the authors finally chose the five equidistant words which accurately reflect the degree of main symptoms. RESULTS The five most appropriate descriptive words were selected; they were "never", "seldom", "half-partly sometimes", "very often" and "always". CONCLUSION These selected decorated words are suitable for the PRO scale for patients with COPD complicated with pulmonary heart disease.

A systematic study on the structure and function of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) variations was carried out in China. A total of 155,879 participants were screened for G6PD deficiency by the G6PD/6PGD ratio method and 6,683 cases have been found. The prevalence of G6PD deficiency ranged from 0 to 17.4%. With informed consent, 1,004 cases from 11 ethnic-based groups were subjected to molecular analysis. Our results showed the followings: (1) The G6PD variants are consistent across traditional ethnic boundaries, but vary in frequencies across ethnic-based groups in Chinese population, (2) The G6PD variants in Chinese population are different from those in African, European, and Indian populations, (3) A novel G6PD-deficiency mutation, 274C--T, has been found, and (4) Denaturing high performance liquid chromatography is of great advantage to detecting G6PD-deficient mutations for diagnosis and genetic counseling. Moreover, functional analysis of the human G6PD variants showed the following: (1) The charge property, polarity, pK-radical and side-chain radical of the substituting amino acid have an effect on G6PD activity, (2) The G6PDArg459 and Arg463 play important roles in anchoring NADP+ to the catalytic domain to maintain the enzymatic activity, and (3) The sequence from codon 459 to the carboxyl terminal is essential for the enzymatic function.

To identify potential mutation in a Chinese family featuring X-linked alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome (ATR-X).Based on clinical symptoms and inheritance pattern, linkage analysis of X chromosome short tandem repeats (X-STR) loci was carried out to locate the candidate gene. Subsequently, sequences of exons and exon-intron boundaries of the candidate gene were amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Potential mutations were detected by direct DNA sequencing. All patients were also analyzed for the trait of thalassemia.Linkage analysis indicated the candidate gene to be ATRX. Subsequently, a homozygous missense mutation c.736CT (p.R246C) was found in exon 9 of ATRX in all of the 3 patients. And a heterozygous mutation c.736CT (p.R246C) was also identified in the patient's mother and grandmother. Similar mutations were not detected in other members of the family. Alpha thalassemia was detected in the proband and another patient, whose genotypes were determined as -α(3.7)/αα and --(sea)/αα, respectively.Missense mutation of c.736CT in ATRX gene is a mutation hotspot, and p.R246C may disturb the function of ATRX-DNMT3-DNMT3L domain (ADD), which may be responsible for the disease in this family.

We report the genetic data of 435 patients with Hb H (β4) disease who presented at our center between 2005 and 2012. Our results showed that all patients had the Southeast Asian deletion (- -(SEA)) on one allele. The -α(3.7) (rightward) deletion was the most common on the other allele, followed by the -α(4.2) (leftward) deletion, Hb Constant Spring (Hb CS, α142, Term → Gln; HBA2: c.427T C) and Hb Quong Sze [Hb QS, α125(H8)Leu → Pro; HBA2: c.377T C] mutations. Two rare point mutations, α31(B12)Arg → Lys; HBA2: c.95GA and Hb Zurich Albisrieden [α59(E8)Gly → Arg; HBA1: c.178G C], were also identified. Four patients had a concomitant β-thalassemia (β-thal) heterozygosity. Our results reflect the genetic heterogeneity of Hb H disease and the interaction between Hb H disease and β-thal trait in Southern China.

To understand the genotype of α and β-globin, as well as the polymorphism of β-globin gene in Cantonese in recent years, and to provide an effective genetic diagnosis for thalassemia (thal).The single-tube complex PCR was used to detect 3 types of deletional α-thal, reverse dot blotting (RDB)/PCR to detect 3 kinds of undeletional α-thal-αCS, αQS, αWSand 18 kinds of β-thal mutations which were common in Chinese population. A total of 454 cases from Guangdong were undergone thal genotype genetic diagnosis. Among the 454 cases, 142 cases were selected to perform the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) analysis of β- globin gene by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC)combining the whole gene sequencing.Of the 454 cases, 438 were diagnosed as thalassemia, including 246 of α-thal, 164 of β-thal and 28 of αβ-thal. In 246 α-thal cases, deletions were the dominant mutations, including 197 cases of αα/--(SEA), 20 of αα/-α(3.7) and 9 of αα/-α(4.2). In 164 β- thal cases, heterozygotes accounted for 92.7% (152/164), the main genotypes were CD41- 42, IVS-II-654, ﹣28 and CD17, and the dual heterozygotes and homozygotes accounted for 4.9% (8/164) and 2.4% (4/164), respectively. The result of β-globin gene screening by DHPLC combining with sequencing was consistent with that of RDB. Moreover, we also found 9 kinds of SNP, in which 2 were unreported, the IVS-I-13 GA and IVS-II- 310 TC. In the tested samples, the frequency of 4 kinds SNP was high, among which 3 kinds SNPs-rs713040, rs10768683 and rs1609812 were carried together.The dominant genotypes were αα/--(SEA) in α-thal cases, CD41-42, IVS-II-654, -28 and CD17 in β-thal. The frequency of β-thal heterozygotes, homozygotes and αβ-thal is high. DHPLC combining the whole β-globin gene sequencing can effectively detect the common β-thal mutation and even new mutations or SNPs. In Cantonese, the frequency of SNP rs713040, rs10768683, rs7480526 and rs1609812 of β-globin gene was high, and there may exist genetic linkage between rs713040, rs10768683 and rs1609812.

The purpose of this study was to understand the molecular genetic mechanism of mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) and to provide a prerequisite for future prenatal gene diagnosis. A preliminary diagnosis was made by qualitative detection of Urinary Glycosaminoglycans of the suspected MPS II proband. Then, mutation detection was performed on the proband and his family members with PCR and direct sequencing of PCR products. After the novel mutation of c.876 del 2 in IDS gene was detected, sequence analysis was performed on exon 6 of IDS gene of the 135 cases, which consisted of 120 randomly selected normal controls, and other 15 patients with MPS I, IV, and VI other than MPS II. Besides, the patho-genicity of the novel mutation was analyzed with the following 2 methods: conservative analysis of the sequence of muta-tion spots of different species and the direct test of the IDS enzyme activity of the patient and his relative family members. The result of uroscopy of the proband was strong positive (GAGs +++). There was a novel deletion mutation of c.876-877 del TC in the coding region of exon 6 of IDS gene, which was a hemizygous mutation. However, the mutation of his mother and sister was a heterozygous mutation. Detection of the exon 6 of IDS gene showed that the mutation was not found among normal controls and other patients with MPS I, IV, and VI other than MPS II. Homology comparison of amino acid sequences from different species showed that the phenylalanine (F) glutamine (Q) of the mutation site of c.876-877 del TC located in p.292-293 was highly conserved. The activity of IDS enzyme of the proband was only 2.3 nmol/4 h/mL, which was much lower than normal; but the activity of IDS enzyme of his father, mother and sister was 641.9 nmol/4 h/mL, 95.8 nmol/4h/mL and 103.2 nmol/4h/mL, respectively. These results illustrated that the deletion and frame-shift mutation of c.876-877 del TC detected was a novel pathologic mutation, which was the underlying cause of MPS II of this patient.

To investigate the genotype of oculocutaneous albinism type II (OCA2) and perform prenatal gene diagnosis for OCA2.Peripheral blood samples were collected from a 9-year-old girl with OCA and her parents, the mother being pregnant. PCR, automatic sequence analysis and denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) were used to analyze the TYR gene and P gene so as to screen the OCA genes. Amniocentesis was conducted when the mother was 20-week pregnant and the amniotic cells underwent screening of the 2 specific mutations. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 100 healthy persons without phenotype of OCA to undergo genetic analysis.The TYR gene of the proband did not show any mutation, and 2 new mutations were found in her P gene: p. N476D (c. 1426 AG) and p.Y827H (c.2479TC). Her father and mother were heterozygote of Y827H and N476D respectively. Based on these findings the amniotic cells underwent sequencing of enlarged fragments of the exons 14 and 24 containing the mutation sites. The result showed that the fetus only got the maternal N476D mutation and didn't get the paternal Y827H mutation. So the fetus was predicted to be a carrier of OCA2 with normal appearance. The baby was born normal later as predicted. None of these 2 mutations was found in the 100 healthy persons.This is a success of prenatal gene diagnosis of OCA2. Two novel mutations of the P gene related to OCA have been discovered.

Of denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC), a technique platform was developed for screening G6PD deficient variants.When applied to screen and identify the G6PD deficient variants from 124 patients who come from 11 nations in China, the DHPLC was compared with amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) or DNA sequence technique and assessed carefully in its accuracy, sensitivity, efficiency and the cost of experiment.The G6PD-deficient variants, such as 1388 G--A (36/124 cases), 1376 G--T(35), 95 A--G (14), 1024 C--T (3), 392 G--T (4), 871 G--A /1311 C--T /IVS XI +93 t--c (9), 871 G--A (1), 1311 C--T/IVS XI +93 t--c (4), 1376 G--T /1388 G--A (1) and so on, were characterized as sharp peaks by DHPLC and verified by DNA sequence. Further, the standard chromatograms were put into database for 8 kinds of common G6PD deficient variants in Chinese populations. And also DHPLC found 3 G6PD variants (1388 G--A) from 103 negative controls. With taking 8.8 minutes and costing 1 dollar for each sample, DHPLC successfully detected and identified 34 heterozygous females from patients with G6PD deficiency. However, ARMS checked 83 positive controls but got 12 false G6PD mutants, of which 5 were false positive, 7 false negative. Above results show that DHPLC sounds like to be more convenience, sensitive and accurate than ARMS and DNA sequence techniques for checking G6PD mutants.DHPLC is of great advantage to screen the G6PD deficient variants with accuracy, convenience, automation and less cost, and significantly to identify the female heterozygote and clinical type IV individuals with G6PD deficiency.