The effects of hypoxia on major blood components:a brief review

The prevalence of stroke displays obvious geographical variation and is higher on plateaus.Similarly,prolonged stay at high altitude is associated with higher incidence of stroke.High-altitude hypoxia can elicit various physiological dysfunctions,and hypoxia is suggested to be the principal contributing factor of stroke.In this brief review,the effects of hypoxia on the properties of the blood components such as erythrocytes,leukocytes and thrombocytes are presented,in an effort to inform the prevention and treatment of stroke in high-altitude areas.

Structure and properties of an ultra-high strength 7xxx aluminum alloy contained Sc and Zr

An ultra-high strength aluminum alloy was produced by casting and then extruded to rods. The effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy was investigated. After single ageing （120℃, 24 h）, the tensile strength was 812.4 MPa and the elongation was 6.2%. After retrogression reaging （RRA）, the tensile strength was 751.2 MPa and the elongation was 6.4%. The strengthening mechanism is considered as fine grain strengthening, substructure strengthening and dispersion strengthening by Al3（Sc, Zr）.

Joint Algorithm of Message Fragmentation and No-Wait Scheduling for Time-Sensitive Networks

Time-sensitive networks(TSNs)support not only traditional best-effort communications but also deterministic communications,which send each packet at a deterministic time so that the data transmissions of networked control systems can be precisely scheduled to guarantee hard real-time constraints.No-wait scheduling is suitable for such TSNs and generates the schedules of deterministic communications with the minimal network resources so that all of the remaining resources can be used to improve the throughput of best-effort communications.However,due to inappropriate message fragmentation,the realtime performance of no-wait scheduling algorithms is reduced.Therefore,in this paper,joint algorithms of message fragmentation and no-wait scheduling are proposed.First,a specification for the joint problem based on optimization modulo theories is proposed so that off-the-shelf solvers can be used to find optimal solutions.Second,to improve the scalability of our algorithm,the worst-case delay of messages is analyzed,and then,based on the analysis,a heuristic algorithm is proposed to construct low-delay schedules.Finally,we conduct extensive test cases to evaluate our proposed algorithms.The evaluation results indicate that,compared to existing algorithms,the proposed joint algorithm improves schedulability by up to 50%.

Cost Minimization of Wireless Sensor Networks with Unlimited-lifetime Energy for Monitoring Oil Pipelines

Cyber-physical-system (CPS) has been widely used in both civil and military applications. Wireless sensor network (WSN) as the part and parcel of CPS faces energy problem because sensors are battery powered, which results in limited lifetime of the network. To address this energy problem, we take advantage of energy harvesting device (EHD) and study how to indefinitely prolong oil pipeline monitoring network lifetime by reasonable selecting EHD. Firstly, we propose a general strategy worst case-energy balance strategy (WC-EBS), which defines worst case energy consumption (WCEC) as the maximum energy sensor node could expend for oil pipeline monitoring WSN. When the energy collected by EHD is equal or greater than WCEC, network can have an unlimited lifetime. However, energy harvesting rate is proportional to the price of EHD, WC-EBS will cause high network cost. To reduce network cost, we present two optimization strategies, optimization workloadenergy balance strategy (OW-EBS ) and optimization first nodeenergy balance strategy (OF-EBS). The main idea of OW-EBS is to cut down WCEC by reducing critical node transmission workload; OF-EBS confirms critical node by optimizing each sensor node transmission range, then we get the optimal energy harvesting rate in OF-EBS. The experimental results demonstrate that OF-EBS can indefinitely extend network lifetime with lower cost than WC-EBS and OW-EBS, and energy harvesting rate P in each strategy satisfies POF-EBS ≤POW-EBS ≤PWC-EBS. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

Distribution,evolution and the effects of rare earths Ce and Y on the mechanical properties of ZK60 alloys

Eight kinds of Mg-RE alloys were prepared. The distribution, evolution, and effects of RE Ce and Y in the investigated alloys were studied by examining the mechanical properties of Mg alloys using X-ray diffraction and scan electron analysis, and by TEM observation. The results show that among the investigated alloys, ZK60-1.5%Ce and ZK60-1.0%Y possessed the optimal mechanical properties. Ce and Y were distributed on the grain boundary during casting. After extrusion and T5 （150℃/0-24 h） heattreatment, Ce and Y were distributed along the extrusion direction and they existed in compound form for both as-casting and asextrusion specimens. The mechanical properties of the investigated alloys were better than those of ZK60 because of the solid solution strengthening of RE and the dispersion strengthening of Mg-RE or Mg-Zn-RE compounds.

Perspectives on mechanisms underlying remote ischemic conditioning against ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke is a major neurological disease with limited effective therapeutic options except for thrombolysis and thrombectomy. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is an approach that promises an alternative to the current treatment portfolio. As an easy-handled, non-invasive regimen, it takes advantage of transient ischemia (currently often made through inflation and deflation of limb blood pressure cuff) to enhance the tolerance of vital organs to ischemia. RIC can be executed before, during and after the onset of stroke. The mechanisms of action of RIC employed at different stroke stages are similar and may involve humoral, neurological and inflammatory pathways. As new mechanisms underlying RIC-induced neuroprotection continue to be revealed, we review in this article some of the latest development in this field, including:① RIC and RIC-induced fundamental change, hypoxia, as well as the role of hypoxia inducible factors against stroke;② Potential role of RIC-induced extracellular vesicles in neuroprotection;③ RIC-induced metabolic changes in tissue protection;④ Potential effect of RIC on red blood cells (RBC) oxygen delivery;and ⑤ RIC and its anti-inflammatory potential.

<i>γδ</i>-T Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia Associated Hemaphagocytic Syndrome Complicated with Multiple Organ Dysfunction

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) usually presents as a complication of T/NK cell lymphoma. However, γδ-T large granular lymphocyte leukemia (LGL) associated HPS was rarely reported. Herein, we reported a case of γδ-T LGL associated HPS. A previously healthy 21-year-old Chinese man was admitted with high fever, severe pancytopenia and liver dysfunction. He developed disseminated intravascular coaggulation (DIC), shock, gastrointestinal bleeding, acute renal failure as well as central nervous system involvement. Bone marrow aspiration showed infiltration of large granular lymphocytes and hemophagocytic histiocytes. Immunophenotyping analysis by four-color flow cytometry showed the leukemic cells with large side scatter (SSC), CD3+, CD2+, CD8+, CD5-, CD7 partly+, CD4-, CD56-, CD57-. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of TCRβ and γ chain gene rearrangement confirmed TCRγδ T cell clone. Thus, a diagnosis of γδ-T LGL associated HPS was established. The patient worsened rapidly and died of multiple organ failure.

Industrial Internet for intelligent manufacturing:past, present, and future

Industrial Internet, motivated by the deep integration of new-generation information and communication technology(ICT) and advanced manufacturing technology, will open up the production chain, value chain, and industry chain by establishing complete interconnections between humans, machines, and things. This will also help establish novel manufacturing and service modes, where personalized and customized production for differentiated services is a typical paradigm of future intelligent manufacturing. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to break through the existing chimney-like service mode provided by the hierarchical heterogeneous network architecture and establish a transparent channel for manufacturing and services using a flat network architecture. Starting from the basic concepts of process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing, we first analyze the basic requirements of typical manufacturing tasks. Then, with an overview on the developing process of industrial Internet, we systematically compare the current networking technologies and further analyze the problems of the present industrial Internet.On this basis, we propose to establish a novel “thin waist” that integrates sensing, communication, computing, and control for the future industrial Internet. Furthermore, we perform a deep analysis and engage in a discussion on the key challenges and future research issues regarding the multi-dimensional collaborative sensing of task–resource, the end-to-end deterministic communication of heterogeneous networks, and virtual computing and operation control of industrial Internet.

CRISPR-Cas9 mediated LAG-3 disruption in CAR-T cells

T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptor （CAR） have been successfully applied to treat advanced refractory B cell malignancy. However, many challenges remain in extending its application toward the treatment of solid tumors. The immunosuppressive nature of tumor microenvironment is considered one of the key factors limiting CART efficacy. One negative regulator of T cell activity is lymphocyte activation gene-3 （LAG-3）. We successfully generated LAG-3 knockout T and CAR-T cells with high efficiency using CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene editing and found that the viability and immune phenotype were not dramatically changed during in vitro culture. LAG-3 knockout CART cells displayed robust antigen-specific antitumor activity in cell culture and in murine xenograft model, which is comparable to standard CAR-T cells. Our study demonstrates an efficient approach to silence immune checkpoint in CAR-T cells via gene editing.