Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on sandstone in sunny and shady slopes

A growing rock engineering activity in cold regions is facing the threat of freeze-thaw(FT)weathering,especially in high mountains where the sunny-shady slope effects strongly control the difference in weathering behavior of rocks.In this paper,an investigation of the degradation of petrophysical characteristics of sandstone specimens subjected to FT cycle tests to simulate the sunny-shady slope effects is presented.To this aim,non-destructive and repeatable testing techniques including weight,ultrasonic waves,and nuclear magnetic resonance methods on standard specimens were performed.For the sunny slope specimens,accompanied by the enlargement of small pores,100 FT cycles caused a significant decrease in P-wave velocity with an average of 23%,but a consistent rise of 0.18%in mass loss,34%in porosity,67%in pore geometrical mean radius,and a remarkable 14.5-fold increase in permeability.However,slight changes with some abnormal trends in physical parameters of the shady slope specimens were observed during FT cycling,which can be attributed to superficial granular disaggregation and pore throat obstruction.Thermal shocks enhance rock weathering on sunny slopes during FT cycles,while FT weathering on shady slopes is restricted to the small pores and the superficial cover.These two factors are primarily responsible for the differences in FT weathering intensity between sunny and shady slopes.The conclusions derived from the interpretation of the experimental results may provide theoretical guidance for the design of slope-failure prevention measures and the selection of transportation routes in cold mountainous regions.

Sugarcane leaves-derived polyphenols alleviate metabolic syndrome and modulate gut microbiota of ob/ob mice

Sugarcane leaves-derived polyphenols(SLP)have been demonstrated to have diverse health-promoting benefits,but the mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated.This study aimed to investigate the anti-metabolic disease effects of SLP and the underlying mechanisms in mice.In the current study,we prepared the SLP mainly consisting of three flavonoid glycosides,three phenol derivatives,and two lignans including one new compound,and further demonstrated that SLP reduced body weight gain and fat accumulation,improved glucose and lipid metabolism disorders,ameliorated hepatic steatosis,and regulated short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)production and secondary bile acids metabolism in ob/ob mice.Notably,SLP largely altered the gut microbiota composition,especially enriching the commensal bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides acidifaciens.Oral gavage with the above two strains ameliorated metabolic syndrome(MetS),regulated secondary bile acid metabolism,and increased the production of SCFAs in high-fat diet(HFD)-induced obese mice.These results demonstrated that SLP could be used as a prebiotic to attenuate MetS via regulating gut microbiota composition and further activating the secondary bile acids-mediated gut-adipose axis.

The human-derived novel gut commensal Luoshenia tenuis regulates body weight and food intake in mice

Many studies have revealed that gut microbes modulate host metabolism.In this study,we characterized the therapeutic effects of a novel gut commensal Luoshenia tenuis against host metabolic disorders.First,by in silico analysis,we demonstrated that the L.tenuis was prevalent in the gut microbiomes of healthy humans but were depleted specifically in obesity cohorts.Further in vitro cultivation revealed that L.tenuis produced short chain fatty acids that were verified to modulate host metabolism and some other volatile metabolites to benefit hosts by anti-inflammation and anti-tumor.Second,gavage of the L.tenuis significantly decreased the body weight gain and food intake of high-fat diet-feeding C57BL/6J mice,which was in parallel with the changed expression level of genes related to satiety and feeding behavior.We then performed the gavage trial using diet induced obese mice,and it revealed that the administration of L.tenuis alleviated significantly the abnormal glucose and lipid metabolisms and reduced the inflammatory response.In summary,this study revealed a previously-unknown human gut commensal microbe that benefited host metabolism,and set the stage for the development of novel next-generation probiotic applicable for treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders.

Ganoboninketal C from Ganoderma boninense improves the efficacy of CDDP-based chemotherapy through inhibiting translesion DNA synthesis

Translesion DNA synthesis(TLS)can bypass DNA lesions caused by chemotherapeutic drugs,which usually result in drug resistance.Given its key role in mutagenesis and cell survival after DNA damage,inhibition of the TLS pathway has emerged as a potential target for improving the efficacy of DNA-damaging agents such as cisplatin(CDDP),a widely used anticancer agent.Unfortunately,few suitable natural TLS inhibitors have been reported.Here,we found that a triterpenoid compound Ganoboninketal C(26-3)from Ganoderma boninense,a traditional Chinese medicine,can impair CDDP-induced TLS polymerase eta(Polη)focus formation,PCNA monoubiquitination as well as mutagenesis.Moreover,26-3 can significantly sensitize tumor cells to CDDP killing and reduce the proportion of cancer stem cells in AGS and promote apoptosis after CDDP exposure.Interestingly,26-3 can also sensitize tumor cells to Gefitinib therapy.Mechanistically,through RNA-seq analysis,we found that 26-3 could abrogate the CDDP-induced upregulation of Polηand PIDD(p53-induced protein with a death domain),2 known factors promoting TLS pathway.Furthermore,we found that activating transcription factor 3 is a potential novel TLS modulator.Taken together,we have identified a natural TLS inhibitor 26-3,which can be potentially used as an adjuvant to improve clinical efficacy.

Weak and Strong Convergence of Self Adaptive Inertial Subgradient Extragradient Algorithms for Solving Variational Inequality Problems

Many solutions of variational inequalities have been proposed,among which the subgradient extragradient method has obvious advantages.Two different algorithms are given for solving variational inequality problem in this paper.The problem we study is defined in a real Hilbert space and has L-Lipschitz and pseudomonotone condition.Two new algorithms adopt inertial technology and non-monotonic step size rule,and their convergence can still be proved when the value of L is not given in advance.Finally,some numerical results are designed to demonstrate the computational efficiency of our two new algorithms.

Inertial Subgradient Extragradient Algorithm for Solving Variational Inequality Problems with Pseudomonotonicity

In order to solve variational inequality problems of pseudomonotonicity and Lipschitz continuity in Hilbert spaces, an inertial subgradient extragradient algorithm is proposed by virtue of non-monotone stepsizes. Moreover, weak convergence and R-linear convergence analyses of the algorithm are constructed under appropriate assumptions. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through numerical implementations.

Research on Distributed System Course Under the Background of New Engineering

Distributed System Course is a professional computer course of Harbin Institute of Technology.With the guidance of the education strategy under the background of New Engineering,we adhere to the concept of cultivating diverse and innovative outstanding engineering and technology talents.This course conducts research on the teaching content,teaching mode,and evaluation system.It combines the traditional teaching mode with the online teaching mode,as well as problem-driven theories with practice,and adopts a diversified evaluation system.The research of the course has fully mobilized students’learning enthusiasm,improved teaching quality,and achieved significant teaching results.

静态多维风险度量研究

该文建立了多维框架下的静态风险度量,介绍了多维币值风险度量和可接受集概念,讨论了多维风险度量与可接受集之间的关系,最后给出了静态多维风险度量的表示定理,并给出了多维风险度量的一些性质.

Effects of the Fhb1 gene on Fusarium head blight resistance and agronomic traits of winter wheat

The gene Fhb1 has been used in many countries to improve wheat Fusarium head blight(FHB) resistance. To make better use of this gene in the Yellow-Huai River Valleys Winter Wheat Zone(YHWZ), the most important wheat-producing region of China, it is desirable to elucidate its effects on FHB resistance and agronomic traits in different genetic backgrounds. Based on a diagnostic marker for Fhb1, six BC2 populations were developed by crossing dwarf-male-sterile(DMS)-Zhoumai 16 to three Fhb1 donors(Ningmai 9, Ningmai 13, and Jianyang 84) and backcrossing to Zhoumai 16 and Zhoumai16’s derivative cultivars(Lunxuan 136 and Lunxuan 13) using marker-assisted backcross breeding. The progenies were assessed for FHB resistance and major agronomic traits.The Fhb1 alleles were identified using the gene-specific molecular marker. The plants with the Fhb1-resistant genotype(Fhb1-R) in these populations showed significantly fewer infected spikelets than those with the Fhb1-susceptible genotype(Fhb1-S). When Lunxuan 136 was used as the recurrent parent, Fhb1-R plants showed significantly fewer infected spikelets per spike than Fhb1-R plants produced using Lunxuan 13 as the recurrent parent, indicating that the genetic backgrounds of Fhb1 influence the expression of FHB resistance. Fhb1-R plants from the DMS-Zhoumai 16/Ningmai 9//Zhoumai 16/3/Lunxuan 136 population showed the highest FHB resistance among the six populations and a significantly higher level of FHB resistance than the moderately susceptible control Huaimai 20. No significant phenotypic differences between Fhb1-R and Fhb1-S plants were observed for the eight agronomic traits investigated. These results suggest that it is feasible to improve FHB resistance of winter wheat withoutreducing yield potential by introgressing Fhb1 resistance allele into FHB-susceptible cultivars in the YHWZ.

Triple-Helix Structured Model Based on Problem-Knowledge-Solution Co-evolution for Innovative Product Design Process

A design problem with deficient information is generally described as wicked or ill-defined.The information insufficiency leaves designers with loose settings,free environments,and a lack of strict boundaries,which provides them with more opportunities to facilitate innovation.Therefore,to capture the opportunity behind the uncertainty of a design problem,this study models an innovative design as a composite solving process,where the problem is clarified and resolved from fuzziness to satisfying solutions by interplay among design problems,knowledge,and solutions.Additionally,a triple-helix structured model for the innovative product design process is proposed based on the co-evolution of the problem,solution,and knowledge spaces,to provide designers with a distinct design strategy and method for innovative design.The three spaces interact and co-evolve through iterative mappings,including problem structuring,knowledge expansion,and solution generation.The mappings carry the information processing and decision-making activities of the design,and create the path to satisfying solutions.Finally,a case study of a reactor coolant flow distribution device is presented to demonstrate the practicability of this model and the method for innovative product design.

Amelioration of metabolic disorders by a mushroom-derived polyphenols correlates with the reduction of Ruminococcaceae in gut of DIO mice

A polyphenolic alkaloid-enriched extract(PAE)was prepared from the fruiting bodies of a wild edible mushroom Sarcodon leucopus.Oral administration of PAE reduced hyperglycemia,hyperlipidemia,hepatic steatosis,and LPS-related infl ammation in high fat diet-induced obese(DIO)mice.Furthermore,we show that PAE produces taxonomic and predicted functional changes in the gut microbiome of DIO mice.A signifi cant decrease in the family of Ruminococcaceae,especially the secondary bile acid-producing bacteria of Intestinimonas and Anaerotruncus,is detected in the gut microbiome of PAE-treate mice.Accordingly,reductions of deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid are found in the feces of PAE-treated DIO mice,which benefi ts for the intestinal integrity and the reduction of infl ammation.A gut microbiota related mechanism for the anti-metabolic syndrome effects of the PAE is proposed.We suppose the polyphenolic alkaloid extract from S.leucopus be a new and benefi cial prebiotic regulating glucose and lipid metabolisms.

Variation in allelic frequencies at loci associated with kernel weight and their effects on kernel weight-related traits in winter wheat

Knowledge of allelic frequencies at loci associated with kernel weight and effects on kernel weight-related traits is crucial for yield improvement in wheat. Kernel weight-related traits were evaluated in 200 Chinese winter wheat cultivars(lines) grown at the Xinxiang Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang in Henan Province, for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016. Alleles associated with kernel weight at nine loci, TaCKX6-D1, TaCwi-A1, TaCWI-4A, TaGS1a, TaGS5-A1, TaGS3-3A, TaGW2-6A, TaSus2-2B, and TaTGW6-A1, were determined for all cultivars(lines). ANOVA showed that genotypes, years and their interactions had significant effects on thousand-kernel weight(TKW), kernel length(KL) and kernel width(KW). The overall mean frequencies of alleles conferring high and low TKW at the nine loci were 65.9% and 33.4%, with the ranges of 37.0%–85.0% and 13.5%–63.0% for single loci. The frequencies of high-TKW alleles were over 50.0% at eight of the loci. Genotypes at each locus with the high-TKW allele had higher TKW than those with the low-TKW allele. The high-TKW allele Hap-H at the TaSus2-2B locus can be preferably used to increase grain yield due to its high TKW(49.32 g). A total of 18 main allelic combinations(ACs) at nine loci were detected. Three ACs(AC1–AC3) had significantly higher TKW than AC6 with high-TKW alleles at all nine loci even though they contained some low-TKW alleles. This indicated that other loci controlling kernel weight were present in the high-TKW cultivars. This work provides important information for parental selection and marker-assisted selection for breeding.

Mapping of wheat stripe rust resistance gene Yr041133 by BSR-Seq analysis

Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici(Pst) pathotype CYR34 is widely virulent and prevalent in China.Here, we report identification of a strpie rust resistance(Yr) gene, designated Yr041133, in winter wheat line 041133. This line produced a hypersensitive reaction to CYR34 and conferred resistance to 13 other pathotypes. Resistance to CYR34 in line 041133 was controlled by a single dominant gene. Bulked segregant RNA sequencing(BSR-Seq) was performed on a pair of RNA bulks generated by pooling resistant and susceptible recombinant inbred lines. Yr041133 was mapped to a 1.7 c M genetic interval on the chromosome arm 7 BL that corresponded to a 0.8 Mb physical interval(608.9–609.7 Mb) in the Chinese Spring reference genome. Based on its unique physical location Yr041133 differred from the other Yr genes on this chromosome arm.

Identify Can didate Genes in the Interactio n betwee n Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus by Using Biomedical Discovery Support System

Objective To explore the candidate genes that play significant roles in the interconnection between abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA)and type 2 diabetes mellitus(DM).Methods We used the Biomedical Discovery Support System(BITOLA)to screen out the candidate intermediate molecular(CIM)"Gene or Gene Product”that are related to AAA and DM.The dataset of GSE13760,GSE7084,GSE57691,GSE47472 were used to analyze the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)of AAA and DM compared to the healthy status.We used the online tool ofVenny 2.1 assisted by manual checking to identify the overlapped DEGs with the CIMs.The Human eFP Browser was applied to examine the tissue specific expression levels of the detected genes in order to recognize strong expressed genes in both human artery and pancreatic tissue.Results There were 86 CIMs suggested by the closed BITOLA system.Among all the DEGs of AAA and DM,8 genes in GSE7084(ISG20,ITGAX,DSTN,CCL5,CCR5,AGTR1,CD19,CD44)and 2 genes in GSE 13760(PSMD12,FAS)were found to be overlapped with the 86 CIMs.By manual checking and comparing with tissuespecific gene data through Human eFP Browser,the gene PSMD12(proteasome 26S subunit,non-ATPase 12)was recognized to be strongly expressed in both the aorta and pancreatic tissue.Conclusion We proposed a hypothesis through text mining that PSMD12 might be involved or potentially involved in the interconnection between AAA and DM,which may provide a new clue for studies on novel therapeutic strategies for the two diseases.

Intraseasonal modulation of Wyrtki jet in the eastern Indian Ocean by equatorial waves during spring 2013

A strong spring Wyrtki jet(WJ)presents in May 2013 in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean.The entire buildup and retreat processes of the spring WJ were well captured by two adjacent Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers mounted on the mooring systems.The observed zonal jet behaved as one intraseasonal event with the significant features of abrupt emergence as well as slow disappearance.Further research illustrate that the pronounced surface westerly wind burst during late-April to mid-May,associated with the active phase of a robust eastwardpropagating Madden–Julian oscillation in the tropical Indian Ocean,was the dominant reason for the rapid acceleration of surface WJ.In contrasting,the governing mechanism for the jet termination was equatorial wave dynamics rather than wind forcing.The decomposition analysis of equatorial waves and the corresponding changes in the ocean thermocline demonstrated that strong WJ was produced rapidly by the wind-generated oceanic downwelling equatorial Kelvin wave and was terminated subsequently by the westward-propagating equatorial Rossby wave reflecting from eastern boundaries of the Indian Ocean.

mproving Cache Management with Redundant RDDs Eviction in Spark

Efcient cache management plays a vital role in in-memory dataparallel systems,such as Spark,Tez,Storm and HANA.Recent research,notably research on the Least Reference Count(LRC)and Most Reference Distance(MRD)policies,has shown that dependency-aware caching management practices that consider the application’s directed acyclic graph(DAG)perform well in Spark.However,these practices ignore the further relationship between RDDs and cached some redundant RDDs with the same child RDDs,which degrades the memory performance.Hence,in memory-constrained situations,systems may encounter a performance bottleneck due to frequent data block replacement.In addition,the prefetch mechanisms in some cache management policies,such as MRD,are hard to trigger.In this paper,we propose a new cache management method called RDE(Redundant Data Eviction)that can fully utilize applications’DAG information to optimize the management result.By considering both RDDs’dependencies and the reference sequence,we effectively evict RDDs with redundant features and perfect the memory for incoming data blocks.Experiments show that RDE improves performance by an average of 55%compared to LRU and by up to 48%and 20%compared to LRC and MRD,respectively.RDE also shows less sensitivity to memory bottlenecks,which means better availability in memory-constrained environments.

The enriched gut commensal Faeciroseburia intestinalis contributes to the anti-metabolic disorders effects of the Ganoderma meroterpene derivative

Previous study demonstrated that Ganoderma meroterpene derivative(GMD)increased the abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria in gut and subsequently delivered anti-metabolic disorder effect of host.To specify the key commensal bacteria associating with the beneficial effects,we tried to isolate and compare the microbiota from the cecal samples of GMD-and vehicle-treated ob/ob mice,and further identified butyrate-producing bacterial strains.It was found that Faeciroseburia intestinalis was enriched and 11 strains affiliated to F.intestinalis were cultivated from the gut of GMD-treated mice.In vitro assay attested butyrate production by representative strain of F.intestinalis.Oral administration with F.intestinalis further demonstrated its benefits on regulating hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia,on decreasing plasma lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and inflammation,and on improving hepatic injuries.Treatment with F.intestinalis effectively enhanced the level of gut butyrate,which subsequently ameliorated the intestinal barrier function and activated epithelial PPAR-γ signaling pathway to regulate microbiome homeostasis in gut.Our study demonstrated that the causal relationship between the butyrate-producing bacteria and the GMD's therapeutic effects and confirmed the important function of the butyrate-producing F.intestinalis in maintaining host metabolism homeostasis.

Direct writing-in and visualizing reading-out data storage with high capacity in low-cost plastics

The explosive growth of the global data volume demands new and advanced data storage methods.Here,we report that data storage with ultrahigh capacity(~1 TB per disc)can be realized in low-cost plastics,including polycarbonate(PC),precipitated calcium carbonate(PCC),polystyrene(PS),and polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA),via direct fs laser writing.The focused fs laser can modify the fluorescence of written regions on the surface and in the interior of PMMA,enabling threedimensional(3D)information storage.Through the 3D laser processing platform,a 50-layer data record with low bit error(0.96%)is archived.Visual reading of data is empowered by the fluorescence contrast.The broad variation of fluorescence intensity assigns 8 gray levels,corresponding to 3 bits on each spot.The gray levels of each layer present high stability after longterm aging cycles,confirming the robustness of data storage.Upon single pulse control via a high-frequency electro-optic modulator(EOM),a fast writing speed(~1 kB/s)is achieved,which is limited by the repetition frequency of the fs laser.

Subspace Minimization Conjugate Gradient Method Based on Cubic Regularization Model for Unconstrained Optimization

Many methods have been put forward to solve unconstrained optimization problems,among which conjugate gradient method(CG)is very important.With the increasing emergence of large⁃scale problems,the subspace technology has become particularly important and widely used in the field of optimization.In this study,a new CG method was put forward,which combined subspace technology and a cubic regularization model.Besides,a special scaled norm in a cubic regularization model was analyzed.Under certain conditions,some significant characteristics of the search direction were given and the convergence of the algorithm was built.Numerical comparisons show that for the 145 test functions under the CUTEr library,the proposed method is better than two classical CG methods and two new subspaces conjugate gradient methods.

Current trends in tai chi for stroke rehabilitation

Background:There are an increasing number of studies focusing on the effect of tai chi for different diseases.As a special form of physical activity,tai chi may be beneficial for the rehabilitation of stroke,a leading cause of disability worldwide.Objective:This review summarizes the existing literature on the potential benefits of tai chi for stroke rehabilitation and offers recommendations for future research.Methods:Studies on the biomechanics and physiology of tai chi for stroke rehabilitation are reviewed.Research on tai chi for stroke rehabilitation and related diseases are summarized.Finally,the shortcomings of existing studies and recommendations for future studies are discussed.Conclusions:Tai chi appears to be beneficial for stroke rehabilitation.But reporting quality of existing studies are sub-optimal.Future trials should define tai chi style,apply rigorous methodology to sample size calculation,randomization,recruiting criteria,and outcome measures.To avoid inadequacies during the research and reporting processes,investigators may wish to follow CONSORT guidelines and refer to well-conducted clinical studies on tai chi.