In general, triangular and quadrilateral elements are commonly applied in two-dimensional finite element methods. If they are used to compute polycrystalline materials, the cost of computation can be quite significant...In general, triangular and quadrilateral elements are commonly applied in two-dimensional finite element methods. If they are used to compute polycrystalline materials, the cost of computation can be quite significant. Polygonal elements can do well in simulation of the materials behavior and provide greater flexibility for the meshing of complex geometries. Hence, the study on the polygonal element is a very useful and necessary part in the finite element method. In this paper, an n-sided polygonal element based on quadratic spline interpolant, denoted by PS2 element, is presented using the triangular area coordinates and the B-net method. The PS2 element is conforming and can exactly model the quadratic field. It is valid for both convex and non-convex polygonal element, and insensitive to mesh distortions. In addition, no mapping or coordinate transformation is required and thus no Jacobian matrix and its inverse are evaluated. Some appropriate examples are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed element.展开更多
The basic principle and numerical technique for simulating two three-dimensional bubbles near a free surface are studied in detail by using boundary element method. The singularities of influence coefficient matrix ar...The basic principle and numerical technique for simulating two three-dimensional bubbles near a free surface are studied in detail by using boundary element method. The singularities of influence coefficient matrix are eliminated using coordinate transformation and so-called 4π rule. The solid angle for the open surface is treated in direct method based on its definition. Several kinds of configurations for the bubbles and free surface have been investigated. The pressure contours during the evolution of bubbles are obtained in our model and can better illuminate the mechanism underlying the motions of bubbles and free surface. The bubble dynamics and their interactions have close relation with the standoff distances, buoyancy parameters and initial sizes of bubbles. Completely different bubble shapes, free surface motions, jetting patterns and pressure distributions under different parameters can be observed in our model, as demon- strated in our calculation results.展开更多
Isoparametric quadrilateral elements are widely used in the finite element method, but the accuracy of the isoparametric quadrilateral elements will drop obviously deteriorate due to mesh distortions. Spline functions...Isoparametric quadrilateral elements are widely used in the finite element method, but the accuracy of the isoparametric quadrilateral elements will drop obviously deteriorate due to mesh distortions. Spline functions have some properties of simplicity and conformality. Two 8-node quadrilateral elements have been developed using the trian- gular area coordinates and the B-net method, which can ex- actly model the quadratic field for both convex and concave quadrangles. Some appropriate examples are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed elements. The nu- merical results show that the two spline elements can obtain solutions which are highly accurate and insensitive to mesh distortions.展开更多
In this article,a high-order scheme,which is formulated by combining the quadratic finite element method in space with a second-order time discrete scheme,is developed for looking for the numerical solution of a two-d...In this article,a high-order scheme,which is formulated by combining the quadratic finite element method in space with a second-order time discrete scheme,is developed for looking for the numerical solution of a two-dimensional nonlinear time fractional thermal diffusion model.The time Caputo fractional derivative is approximated by using the L2-1formula,the first-order derivative and nonlinear term are discretized by some second-order approximation formulas,and the quadratic finite element is used to approximate the spatial direction.The error accuracy O(h3+t2)is obtained,which is verified by the numerical results.展开更多
This paper proposes a hybrid vertex-centered fi- nite volume/finite element method for solution of the two di- mensional (2D) incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured grids. An incremental pressure fra...This paper proposes a hybrid vertex-centered fi- nite volume/finite element method for solution of the two di- mensional (2D) incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured grids. An incremental pressure fractional step method is adopted to handle the velocity-pressure coupling. The velocity and the pressure are collocated at the node of the vertex-centered control volume which is formed by join- ing the centroid of cells sharing the common vertex. For the temporal integration of the momentum equations, an im- plicit second-order scheme is utilized to enhance the com- putational stability and eliminate the time step limit due to the diffusion term. The momentum equations are discretized by the vertex-centered finite volume method (FVM) and the pressure Poisson equation is solved by the Galerkin finite el- ement method (FEM). The momentum interpolation is used to damp out the spurious pressure wiggles. The test case with analytical solutions demonstrates second-order accuracy of the current hybrid scheme in time and space for both veloc- ity and pressure. The classic test cases, the lid-driven cavity flow, the skew cavity flow and the backward-facing step flow, show that numerical results are in good agreement with the published benchmark solutions.展开更多
<strong>Background:</strong> Recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been affected by the extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has developed important global health a...<strong>Background:</strong> Recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been affected by the extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has developed important global health anxiety. At this time, the treatment options for this disease are only moderately successful. Smoking has been related to COVID-19 and its mortality, and it has the potential to affect bacteriological and viral conversion, clinical effects, and treatment outcomes. <strong>Methods:</strong> The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between critical essential trace {zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu)} and toxic {cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni)} elements in human biological samples such as scalp hair, serum, saliva, blood, nasal fluid, and sputum of smoking and nonsmoking male COVID-19 patients (n = 139, age range 25 - 38 years) from Hyderabad, Pakistan. For comparative purposes, the biological specimens of referent persons (n = 83), pulmonary Tuberculosis (T.B) patients (n = 67), Pneumonia (n = 56) of the same age groups were also be analyzed. Microwave oven mediated digestion method was employed, and digestion of samples was carried out with the help of 2:1 mixture solution of HNO<sub>3</sub> (65%) and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> (30%). Atomic absorption spectrometry was employed for the determination of elemental concentrations from the microwave oven employed digested samples. <strong>Results:</strong> The found average of essential elements (Zn, Fe, and Cu) in biological specimens of smoker and nonsmoker male COVID-19, T.B, and Pneumonia patients was found to lower, whilst cadmium and nickel were found to be higher when compared with samples from referents (p < 0.001). <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Improved elemental (Cu, Fe, Zn) concentrations may also decrease the risk of bacterial co-infection by enhancing the mucociliary clearance and respiratory epithelial barrier function, in addition to providing direct antibacterial effects against <i>S. pneumoniae</i>. Our findings also suggest that higher Cd and Ni concentrations are linked to cigarette smoking, which could lead to COVID-19 and other lung-infected diseased recurrences. However, further clinical and experimental research is required.展开更多
The hexanucleotide repeat mutation in the intron-1 of the chromosome 9 open reading frame (C9orf72) is a frequent cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Altered RNA folding pla...The hexanucleotide repeat mutation in the intron-1 of the chromosome 9 open reading frame (C9orf72) is a frequent cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Altered RNA folding plays a role in ALS pathogenesis in two ways: non-ATG translation of the repeat can lead to aggregates of the known C9orf72 specific dipeptide polymer, whereas the repeat also can form neurotoxic RNA inclusions that dose-responsively kill motor neurons. We report the presence of a homology in the 5’untranslated region (UTR) of the messenger RNA encoding C9orf72 with the iron responsive elements (IRE) that control expression of iron-associated transcripts and predict that this RNA structure may iron-dependently regulate C9orf72 translation. We previously report altered serum ferritin levels track with severity of ALS in patients. Here, we conduct bioinformatics analyses to determine the secondary structure of the 5’UTR in C9orf72 mRNA and find it aligned with IREs in the human mitochondrial cis-aconitase and L and H-ferritin transcripts. Comparison of the role of RNA repeats in Friedriech’s ataxia and fragile X mental retardation suggests the utility of RNA based therapies for treatment of ALS. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) have been reported to therapeutically target these GGGGCC repeats. At the same time, because the function of C9orf72 is unknown, knockdown strategies carry some risk of inducing or compounding haploinsufficiency. We propose, for consideration, an approach that may enhance its therapeutic dynamic range by increasing the 5’UTR driven translation of C9orf72 protein to compensate for any potential ALS-specific or ASO-induced haploinsufficieny.展开更多
A three - dimenslonal finite element model is developed to deal with the polymeric liquid flow in coat - hanger die. This model is used to predict the flow behavior of the 2% CMC/watsr solution in the coat - hanger d...A three - dimenslonal finite element model is developed to deal with the polymeric liquid flow in coat - hanger die. This model is used to predict the flow behavior of the 2% CMC/watsr solution in the coat - hanger die with linearly taper manifolds and its validity is experimentally verified quantitatively and qualitatively by using Laser Doppler Velocimetry and Particle Image Velocimetry respectively.展开更多
The forming limit diagram of Ti-15-3 alloy sheet was constituted at room temperature. The effects of different punch and rubber hardness on the limit principal strain distributions were investigated experimentally. Fi...The forming limit diagram of Ti-15-3 alloy sheet was constituted at room temperature. The effects of different punch and rubber hardness on the limit principal strain distributions were investigated experimentally. Finite element analysis models of the samples with dimensions of 180 mm×180 mm were established to analyze the friction coefficients of different interfaces. Effects of various friction coefficients on the strain distributions were studied in detail. Finally, the friction coefficients in the cold forming were determined by contrasting the strain results between the experimental data and the simulated ones.展开更多
For contact dominated numerical control(NC) bending process of tube, the effect of friction on bending deformation behaviors should be focused on to achieve precision bending forming. A three dimensional(3D) elastic-p...For contact dominated numerical control(NC) bending process of tube, the effect of friction on bending deformation behaviors should be focused on to achieve precision bending forming. A three dimensional(3D) elastic-plastic finite element(FE) model of NC bending process was established under ABAQUS/Explicit platform, and its reliability was validated by the experiment. Then, numerical study on bending deformation behaviors under different frictions between tube and various dies was explored from multiple aspects such as wrinkling, wall thickness change and cross section deformation. The results show that the large friction of wiper die-tube reduces the wrinkling wave ratio η and cross section deformation degree ΔD and increases the wall thinning degree Δt. The large friction of mandrel-tube causes large η, Δt and ΔD, and the onset of wrinkling near clamp die. The large friction of pressure die-tube reduces Δt and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on η. The large friction of bending die-tube reduces η and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on Δt. The reasonable friction coefficients on wiper die-tube, mandrel-tube, pressure die-tube and bending die-tube of 21-6-9(0Cr21Ni6Mn9N) stainless steel tube in NC bending are 0.05-0.15, 0.05-0.15, 0.25-0.35 and 0.25-0.35, respectively. The results can provide a guideline for applying the friction conditions to establish the robust bending environment for stable and precise bending deformation of tube bending.展开更多
AIM: To investigate the molecular mechanism for regulation of cholesterol metabolism by hepatitis C virus(HCV) core protein in Hep G2 cells.METHODS: HCV genotype 1b core protein was cloned and expressed in Hep G2 cell...AIM: To investigate the molecular mechanism for regulation of cholesterol metabolism by hepatitis C virus(HCV) core protein in Hep G2 cells.METHODS: HCV genotype 1b core protein was cloned and expressed in Hep G2 cells. The cholesterol content was determined after transfection. The expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein 2(SREBP2) and the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis(HMGCR) was measured by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblotting after transfection. The effects of core protein on the SREBP2 promoter and 3'-untranslated region were analyzed by luciferase assay. We used different target predictive algorithms, micro RNA(mi RNA) mimics/inhibitors, and site-directed mutation to identify a putative target of a particular mi RNA.RESULTS: HCV core protein expression in Hep G2 cells increased the total intracellular cholesterol level(4.05 ± 0.17 vs 6.47 ± 0.68, P = 0.001), and this increase corresponded to an increase in SREBP2 and HMGCR m RNA levels(P = 0.009 and 0.037, respectively) and protein expression. The molecular mechanism studyrevealed that the HCV core protein increased the expression of SREBP2 by enhancing its promoter activity(P = 0.004). In addition, mi R-185-5p expression was tightly regulated by the HCV core protein(P = 0.041). Moreover, overexpression of mi R-185-5p repressed the SREBP2 m RNA level(P = 0.022) and protein expression. In contrast, inhibition of mi R-185-5p caused upregulation of SREBP2 protein expression. mi R-185-5p was involved in the regulation of SREBP2 expression by HCV core protein. CONCLUSION: HCV core protein disturbs the cholesterol homeostasis in Hep G2 cells via the SREBP2 pathway; mi R-185-5p is involved in the regulation of SREBP2 by the core protein.展开更多
It is important to predict the fracture distribution in the tight reservoirs of the Ordos Basin because fracturing is very crucial for the reconstruction of the low-permeability reservoirs. Three-dimensional finite el...It is important to predict the fracture distribution in the tight reservoirs of the Ordos Basin because fracturing is very crucial for the reconstruction of the low-permeability reservoirs. Three-dimensional finite element models are used to predict the fracture orientation and distribution of the Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Longdong area, southern Ordos Basin. The numerical modeling is based on the distribution of sand bodies in the Chang 7a and 72 members, and the different forces that have been exerted along each boundary of the basin in the Late Mesozoic and the Cenozoic. The calculated results demonstrate that the fracture orientations in the Late Mesozoic and the Ceno- zoic are NW-EW and NNE-ENE, respectively. In this paper, the two-factor method is applied to analyze the distribution of fracture density. The distribution maps of predicted fracture density in the Chang 71 and 72 members are obtained, indicating that the tectonic movement in the Late Mesozoic has a greater influence on the fracture development than that in the Cenozoic. The average fracture densities in the Chang 71 and 72 members are similar, but there are differences in their distributions. Compared with other geological elements, the lithology and the layer thickness are the primary factors that control the stress distribution in the study area, which further determine the fracture distribution in the stable Ordos Basin. The predicted fracture density and the two-factor method can be utilized to guide future exploration in the tight-sand reservoirs.展开更多
Optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy dispersed X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX), have been used to study the minerals and the concentrations of 12 trace elements in the No.14 c...Optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy dispersed X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX), have been used to study the minerals and the concentrations of 12 trace elements in the No.14 coal from the Huolinhe mine, Inner Mongolia China. The distribution, affinity and removability of the trace elements were studied by float-sink experiments and petrological methods. A high mineral content, dominated by clay minerals, was found in the No.14 coal from the Huolinhe mine. The concentrations of As, Sb and Hg are relatively high compared to the average values for Chinese coals. As, Cr, Hg, Li, Mn, Pb are mainly associated with the minerals while Cd, Co, Ni, Sb, and Se are evenly distributed between the minerals and the organic matter. Be and Ba are mainly distributed in the minerals with a minor proportion in the organic matter. Most elements have a low organic affinity, although Sb, Se, Co, Cd, Ni are closely integrated with the organic matter. High theoretical removabilities are indicated for most trace elements. So it may be possible to lower the concentrations of trace elements during coal preparation.展开更多
Coal fly ash originated from coal combustion has high concentrations of metals. If suitable leaching techniques are identified, then coal fly ash could serve as a useful source of valuable minerals including rare eart...Coal fly ash originated from coal combustion has high concentrations of metals. If suitable leaching techniques are identified, then coal fly ash could serve as a useful source of valuable minerals including rare earth elements (REEs). In this study, three microbial strains, Candida bombicola, Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Cryptococcus curvatus were tested on their performance of leaching trace elements and REEs from fly ash. Through comparing mineral loss and leaching efficiencies resulting from indirect leaching or use of the culture supernatant, C. bombicola was identified to be the best leading to the highest mineral loss and extracting efficiencies of trace elements and REEs among the three strains. The highest mineral loss observed from using the supernatant of this yeast strain was 59.7%. Among all trace elements, As and Mo had the highest leaching efficiency of 80.9% and 79.5%. respectively. The same leaching test led to 67.7% of Yb and 64.6% of Er dissolved from the ash. This study, thus, demonstrated that bioleaching is feasible for leaching metals out of fly ash. The C. bombicola strain deserves further investigation due to its robust actions on metal leaching.展开更多
The vibro-acoustic responses and sound absorption characteristics of two kinds of periodically stiffened micro-perforated plates are analyzed theoretically. The connected periodical structures of the stiffened plates ...The vibro-acoustic responses and sound absorption characteristics of two kinds of periodically stiffened micro-perforated plates are analyzed theoretically. The connected periodical structures of the stiffened plates can be ribs or block-like structures. Based on fundamental acoustic formulas of the micro-perforated plate of Maa and Takahashi, semi-analytical models of the vibrating stiffened plates are developed in this paper. Approaches like the space harmonic method, Fourier transforms and finite element method (FEM) are adopted to investigate both kinds of the stiffened plates. In the present work, the vibro-acoustic responses of micro-perforated stiffened plates in the wavenumber space are expressed as functions of plate displacement amplitudes. After approximate numerical solutions of the amplitudes, the vibration equations and sound absorption coefficients of the two kinds of stiffened plates in the physical space are then derived by employing the Fourier inverse transform. In numerical examples, the effects of some physical parameters, such as the perforation ratio, incident angles and periodical distances etc., on the sound absorption performance are examined. The proposed approaches are also validated by comparing the present results with solutions of Takahashi and previous studies of stiffened plates. Numerical results indicate that the flexural vibration of the plate has a signif- icant effect on the sound absorption coefficient in the water but has little influence in the air.展开更多
This paper extends Le van's work to the case of nonlinear problem and the complicated configuration. The wrinkling stress distribution and the pressure effects are also included in our analysis. Pseudo-beam method is...This paper extends Le van's work to the case of nonlinear problem and the complicated configuration. The wrinkling stress distribution and the pressure effects are also included in our analysis. Pseudo-beam method is presented based on the inflatable beam theory to model the inflatable structures as a set of inflatable beam elements with a prestressed state. In this method, the discretized nonlinear equations are given based upon the virtual work principle with a 3-node Timoshenko's beam model. Finite element simulation is performed by using a 3-node BEAM189 element incorporating ANSYS nonlinear program. The pressure effect is equivalent included in our method by modifying beam element cross-section parameters related to pressure. A benchmark example, the bending case of an inflatable cantilever beam, is performed to verify the accuracy of our proposed method. The comparisons reveal that the numerical results obtained with our method are close to open published analytical and membrane finite element results. The method is then used to evaluate the whole buckling and the loadcarrying characteristics of an inflatable support frame subjected to a compression force. The wrinkling stress and region characteristics are also shown in the end. This method gives better convergence characteristics, and requires much less computation time. It is very effective to deal with the whole load-carrying ability analytical problems for large scale inflatable structures with complex configuration.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (60533060, 10672032, 10726067)Science Foundation of Dalian University of Technology (SFDUT07001)
文摘In general, triangular and quadrilateral elements are commonly applied in two-dimensional finite element methods. If they are used to compute polycrystalline materials, the cost of computation can be quite significant. Polygonal elements can do well in simulation of the materials behavior and provide greater flexibility for the meshing of complex geometries. Hence, the study on the polygonal element is a very useful and necessary part in the finite element method. In this paper, an n-sided polygonal element based on quadratic spline interpolant, denoted by PS2 element, is presented using the triangular area coordinates and the B-net method. The PS2 element is conforming and can exactly model the quadratic field. It is valid for both convex and non-convex polygonal element, and insensitive to mesh distortions. In addition, no mapping or coordinate transformation is required and thus no Jacobian matrix and its inverse are evaluated. Some appropriate examples are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed element.
基金supported by the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China (50921001)the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (2010CB832704)
文摘The basic principle and numerical technique for simulating two three-dimensional bubbles near a free surface are studied in detail by using boundary element method. The singularities of influence coefficient matrix are eliminated using coordinate transformation and so-called 4π rule. The solid angle for the open surface is treated in direct method based on its definition. Several kinds of configurations for the bubbles and free surface have been investigated. The pressure contours during the evolution of bubbles are obtained in our model and can better illuminate the mechanism underlying the motions of bubbles and free surface. The bubble dynamics and their interactions have close relation with the standoff distances, buoyancy parameters and initial sizes of bubbles. Completely different bubble shapes, free surface motions, jetting patterns and pressure distributions under different parameters can be observed in our model, as demon- strated in our calculation results.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11001037,11102037 and 11290143)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
文摘Isoparametric quadrilateral elements are widely used in the finite element method, but the accuracy of the isoparametric quadrilateral elements will drop obviously deteriorate due to mesh distortions. Spline functions have some properties of simplicity and conformality. Two 8-node quadrilateral elements have been developed using the trian- gular area coordinates and the B-net method, which can ex- actly model the quadratic field for both convex and concave quadrangles. Some appropriate examples are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed elements. The nu- merical results show that the two spline elements can obtain solutions which are highly accurate and insensitive to mesh distortions.
基金the National Natural Science Fund(11661058,11761053)Natural Science Fund of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(2016MS0102,2017MS0107)+1 种基金Program for Young Talents of Science and Technology in Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(NJYT-17-A07)National Undergraduate Innovative Training Project of Inner Mongolia University(201710126026).
文摘In this article,a high-order scheme,which is formulated by combining the quadratic finite element method in space with a second-order time discrete scheme,is developed for looking for the numerical solution of a two-dimensional nonlinear time fractional thermal diffusion model.The time Caputo fractional derivative is approximated by using the L2-1formula,the first-order derivative and nonlinear term are discretized by some second-order approximation formulas,and the quadratic finite element is used to approximate the spatial direction.The error accuracy O(h3+t2)is obtained,which is verified by the numerical results.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (11061021)the Program of Higher-level talents of Inner Mongolia University (SPH-IMU,Z200901004)the Scientific Research Projection of Higher Schools of Inner Mongolia(NJ10016,NJ10006)
文摘This paper proposes a hybrid vertex-centered fi- nite volume/finite element method for solution of the two di- mensional (2D) incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured grids. An incremental pressure fractional step method is adopted to handle the velocity-pressure coupling. The velocity and the pressure are collocated at the node of the vertex-centered control volume which is formed by join- ing the centroid of cells sharing the common vertex. For the temporal integration of the momentum equations, an im- plicit second-order scheme is utilized to enhance the com- putational stability and eliminate the time step limit due to the diffusion term. The momentum equations are discretized by the vertex-centered finite volume method (FVM) and the pressure Poisson equation is solved by the Galerkin finite el- ement method (FEM). The momentum interpolation is used to damp out the spurious pressure wiggles. The test case with analytical solutions demonstrates second-order accuracy of the current hybrid scheme in time and space for both veloc- ity and pressure. The classic test cases, the lid-driven cavity flow, the skew cavity flow and the backward-facing step flow, show that numerical results are in good agreement with the published benchmark solutions.
文摘<strong>Background:</strong> Recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been affected by the extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has developed important global health anxiety. At this time, the treatment options for this disease are only moderately successful. Smoking has been related to COVID-19 and its mortality, and it has the potential to affect bacteriological and viral conversion, clinical effects, and treatment outcomes. <strong>Methods:</strong> The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between critical essential trace {zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu)} and toxic {cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni)} elements in human biological samples such as scalp hair, serum, saliva, blood, nasal fluid, and sputum of smoking and nonsmoking male COVID-19 patients (n = 139, age range 25 - 38 years) from Hyderabad, Pakistan. For comparative purposes, the biological specimens of referent persons (n = 83), pulmonary Tuberculosis (T.B) patients (n = 67), Pneumonia (n = 56) of the same age groups were also be analyzed. Microwave oven mediated digestion method was employed, and digestion of samples was carried out with the help of 2:1 mixture solution of HNO<sub>3</sub> (65%) and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> (30%). Atomic absorption spectrometry was employed for the determination of elemental concentrations from the microwave oven employed digested samples. <strong>Results:</strong> The found average of essential elements (Zn, Fe, and Cu) in biological specimens of smoker and nonsmoker male COVID-19, T.B, and Pneumonia patients was found to lower, whilst cadmium and nickel were found to be higher when compared with samples from referents (p < 0.001). <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Improved elemental (Cu, Fe, Zn) concentrations may also decrease the risk of bacterial co-infection by enhancing the mucociliary clearance and respiratory epithelial barrier function, in addition to providing direct antibacterial effects against <i>S. pneumoniae</i>. Our findings also suggest that higher Cd and Ni concentrations are linked to cigarette smoking, which could lead to COVID-19 and other lung-infected diseased recurrences. However, further clinical and experimental research is required.
文摘The hexanucleotide repeat mutation in the intron-1 of the chromosome 9 open reading frame (C9orf72) is a frequent cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Altered RNA folding plays a role in ALS pathogenesis in two ways: non-ATG translation of the repeat can lead to aggregates of the known C9orf72 specific dipeptide polymer, whereas the repeat also can form neurotoxic RNA inclusions that dose-responsively kill motor neurons. We report the presence of a homology in the 5’untranslated region (UTR) of the messenger RNA encoding C9orf72 with the iron responsive elements (IRE) that control expression of iron-associated transcripts and predict that this RNA structure may iron-dependently regulate C9orf72 translation. We previously report altered serum ferritin levels track with severity of ALS in patients. Here, we conduct bioinformatics analyses to determine the secondary structure of the 5’UTR in C9orf72 mRNA and find it aligned with IREs in the human mitochondrial cis-aconitase and L and H-ferritin transcripts. Comparison of the role of RNA repeats in Friedriech’s ataxia and fragile X mental retardation suggests the utility of RNA based therapies for treatment of ALS. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) have been reported to therapeutically target these GGGGCC repeats. At the same time, because the function of C9orf72 is unknown, knockdown strategies carry some risk of inducing or compounding haploinsufficiency. We propose, for consideration, an approach that may enhance its therapeutic dynamic range by increasing the 5’UTR driven translation of C9orf72 protein to compensate for any potential ALS-specific or ASO-induced haploinsufficieny.
文摘A three - dimenslonal finite element model is developed to deal with the polymeric liquid flow in coat - hanger die. This model is used to predict the flow behavior of the 2% CMC/watsr solution in the coat - hanger die with linearly taper manifolds and its validity is experimentally verified quantitatively and qualitatively by using Laser Doppler Velocimetry and Particle Image Velocimetry respectively.
文摘The forming limit diagram of Ti-15-3 alloy sheet was constituted at room temperature. The effects of different punch and rubber hardness on the limit principal strain distributions were investigated experimentally. Finite element analysis models of the samples with dimensions of 180 mm×180 mm were established to analyze the friction coefficients of different interfaces. Effects of various friction coefficients on the strain distributions were studied in detail. Finally, the friction coefficients in the cold forming were determined by contrasting the strain results between the experimental data and the simulated ones.
基金Project(51164030)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘For contact dominated numerical control(NC) bending process of tube, the effect of friction on bending deformation behaviors should be focused on to achieve precision bending forming. A three dimensional(3D) elastic-plastic finite element(FE) model of NC bending process was established under ABAQUS/Explicit platform, and its reliability was validated by the experiment. Then, numerical study on bending deformation behaviors under different frictions between tube and various dies was explored from multiple aspects such as wrinkling, wall thickness change and cross section deformation. The results show that the large friction of wiper die-tube reduces the wrinkling wave ratio η and cross section deformation degree ΔD and increases the wall thinning degree Δt. The large friction of mandrel-tube causes large η, Δt and ΔD, and the onset of wrinkling near clamp die. The large friction of pressure die-tube reduces Δt and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on η. The large friction of bending die-tube reduces η and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on Δt. The reasonable friction coefficients on wiper die-tube, mandrel-tube, pressure die-tube and bending die-tube of 21-6-9(0Cr21Ni6Mn9N) stainless steel tube in NC bending are 0.05-0.15, 0.05-0.15, 0.25-0.35 and 0.25-0.35, respectively. The results can provide a guideline for applying the friction conditions to establish the robust bending environment for stable and precise bending deformation of tube bending.
基金Supported by Medical Specialty Development Projects of Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals,No.ZYLX201402Ministry of Education of The People’s Republic of China,No.20121107110012+1 种基金Beijing Municipal Commission of Education,No.11320016Collaborative Innovation Center of Infectious Diseases and Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases,Beijing,China
文摘AIM: To investigate the molecular mechanism for regulation of cholesterol metabolism by hepatitis C virus(HCV) core protein in Hep G2 cells.METHODS: HCV genotype 1b core protein was cloned and expressed in Hep G2 cells. The cholesterol content was determined after transfection. The expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein 2(SREBP2) and the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis(HMGCR) was measured by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblotting after transfection. The effects of core protein on the SREBP2 promoter and 3'-untranslated region were analyzed by luciferase assay. We used different target predictive algorithms, micro RNA(mi RNA) mimics/inhibitors, and site-directed mutation to identify a putative target of a particular mi RNA.RESULTS: HCV core protein expression in Hep G2 cells increased the total intracellular cholesterol level(4.05 ± 0.17 vs 6.47 ± 0.68, P = 0.001), and this increase corresponded to an increase in SREBP2 and HMGCR m RNA levels(P = 0.009 and 0.037, respectively) and protein expression. The molecular mechanism studyrevealed that the HCV core protein increased the expression of SREBP2 by enhancing its promoter activity(P = 0.004). In addition, mi R-185-5p expression was tightly regulated by the HCV core protein(P = 0.041). Moreover, overexpression of mi R-185-5p repressed the SREBP2 m RNA level(P = 0.022) and protein expression. In contrast, inhibition of mi R-185-5p caused upregulation of SREBP2 protein expression. mi R-185-5p was involved in the regulation of SREBP2 expression by HCV core protein. CONCLUSION: HCV core protein disturbs the cholesterol homeostasis in Hep G2 cells via the SREBP2 pathway; mi R-185-5p is involved in the regulation of SREBP2 by the core protein.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundations of China(Grant Nos.40772121 and 41530207)State Key Projects of Petroleum(Nos.2008ZX05029001,2011ZX05029-001 and 2014A0213)Research and Development Foundations of the Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute(TY-15-CERI02)
文摘It is important to predict the fracture distribution in the tight reservoirs of the Ordos Basin because fracturing is very crucial for the reconstruction of the low-permeability reservoirs. Three-dimensional finite element models are used to predict the fracture orientation and distribution of the Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Longdong area, southern Ordos Basin. The numerical modeling is based on the distribution of sand bodies in the Chang 7a and 72 members, and the different forces that have been exerted along each boundary of the basin in the Late Mesozoic and the Cenozoic. The calculated results demonstrate that the fracture orientations in the Late Mesozoic and the Ceno- zoic are NW-EW and NNE-ENE, respectively. In this paper, the two-factor method is applied to analyze the distribution of fracture density. The distribution maps of predicted fracture density in the Chang 71 and 72 members are obtained, indicating that the tectonic movement in the Late Mesozoic has a greater influence on the fracture development than that in the Cenozoic. The average fracture densities in the Chang 71 and 72 members are similar, but there are differences in their distributions. Compared with other geological elements, the lithology and the layer thickness are the primary factors that control the stress distribution in the study area, which further determine the fracture distribution in the stable Ordos Basin. The predicted fracture density and the two-factor method can be utilized to guide future exploration in the tight-sand reservoirs.
文摘Optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy dispersed X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX), have been used to study the minerals and the concentrations of 12 trace elements in the No.14 coal from the Huolinhe mine, Inner Mongolia China. The distribution, affinity and removability of the trace elements were studied by float-sink experiments and petrological methods. A high mineral content, dominated by clay minerals, was found in the No.14 coal from the Huolinhe mine. The concentrations of As, Sb and Hg are relatively high compared to the average values for Chinese coals. As, Cr, Hg, Li, Mn, Pb are mainly associated with the minerals while Cd, Co, Ni, Sb, and Se are evenly distributed between the minerals and the organic matter. Be and Ba are mainly distributed in the minerals with a minor proportion in the organic matter. Most elements have a low organic affinity, although Sb, Se, Co, Cd, Ni are closely integrated with the organic matter. High theoretical removabilities are indicated for most trace elements. So it may be possible to lower the concentrations of trace elements during coal preparation.
文摘Coal fly ash originated from coal combustion has high concentrations of metals. If suitable leaching techniques are identified, then coal fly ash could serve as a useful source of valuable minerals including rare earth elements (REEs). In this study, three microbial strains, Candida bombicola, Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Cryptococcus curvatus were tested on their performance of leaching trace elements and REEs from fly ash. Through comparing mineral loss and leaching efficiencies resulting from indirect leaching or use of the culture supernatant, C. bombicola was identified to be the best leading to the highest mineral loss and extracting efficiencies of trace elements and REEs among the three strains. The highest mineral loss observed from using the supernatant of this yeast strain was 59.7%. Among all trace elements, As and Mo had the highest leaching efficiency of 80.9% and 79.5%. respectively. The same leaching test led to 67.7% of Yb and 64.6% of Er dissolved from the ash. This study, thus, demonstrated that bioleaching is feasible for leaching metals out of fly ash. The C. bombicola strain deserves further investigation due to its robust actions on metal leaching.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51405276 and 50875030)
文摘The vibro-acoustic responses and sound absorption characteristics of two kinds of periodically stiffened micro-perforated plates are analyzed theoretically. The connected periodical structures of the stiffened plates can be ribs or block-like structures. Based on fundamental acoustic formulas of the micro-perforated plate of Maa and Takahashi, semi-analytical models of the vibrating stiffened plates are developed in this paper. Approaches like the space harmonic method, Fourier transforms and finite element method (FEM) are adopted to investigate both kinds of the stiffened plates. In the present work, the vibro-acoustic responses of micro-perforated stiffened plates in the wavenumber space are expressed as functions of plate displacement amplitudes. After approximate numerical solutions of the amplitudes, the vibration equations and sound absorption coefficients of the two kinds of stiffened plates in the physical space are then derived by employing the Fourier inverse transform. In numerical examples, the effects of some physical parameters, such as the perforation ratio, incident angles and periodical distances etc., on the sound absorption performance are examined. The proposed approaches are also validated by comparing the present results with solutions of Takahashi and previous studies of stiffened plates. Numerical results indicate that the flexural vibration of the plate has a signif- icant effect on the sound absorption coefficient in the water but has little influence in the air.
基金supported by the Specialized Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (200802131046)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Major Project (200801290)+1 种基金Development Program of Outstanding Young Teachers in Harbin Institute of Technology (HITQNJS.2008.004)Specialized Fund for Innovation Talents of Science and Technology in Harbin (2008RFQXG057).
文摘This paper extends Le van's work to the case of nonlinear problem and the complicated configuration. The wrinkling stress distribution and the pressure effects are also included in our analysis. Pseudo-beam method is presented based on the inflatable beam theory to model the inflatable structures as a set of inflatable beam elements with a prestressed state. In this method, the discretized nonlinear equations are given based upon the virtual work principle with a 3-node Timoshenko's beam model. Finite element simulation is performed by using a 3-node BEAM189 element incorporating ANSYS nonlinear program. The pressure effect is equivalent included in our method by modifying beam element cross-section parameters related to pressure. A benchmark example, the bending case of an inflatable cantilever beam, is performed to verify the accuracy of our proposed method. The comparisons reveal that the numerical results obtained with our method are close to open published analytical and membrane finite element results. The method is then used to evaluate the whole buckling and the loadcarrying characteristics of an inflatable support frame subjected to a compression force. The wrinkling stress and region characteristics are also shown in the end. This method gives better convergence characteristics, and requires much less computation time. It is very effective to deal with the whole load-carrying ability analytical problems for large scale inflatable structures with complex configuration.