A class of Sturm-Liouville problems with discontinuity is studied in this paper.The oscillation properties of eigenfunctions for Sturm-Liouville problems with interface conditions are obtained.The main method used in ...A class of Sturm-Liouville problems with discontinuity is studied in this paper.The oscillation properties of eigenfunctions for Sturm-Liouville problems with interface conditions are obtained.The main method used in this paper is based on Prufer transformation,which is different from the classical ones.Moreover,we give two examples to verify our main results.展开更多
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is increasingly prevalent in Japan, exceeding 30%, and increasing with age. Unhealthy lifestyle habits, obesity, insufficient exercise, and smoking have been implicated in its pathogenesis, a...Erectile dysfunction (ED) is increasingly prevalent in Japan, exceeding 30%, and increasing with age. Unhealthy lifestyle habits, obesity, insufficient exercise, and smoking have been implicated in its pathogenesis, along with endothelial dysfunction of the corpora cavernosa and impaired blood flow to the penis considered underlying factors. However, the current treatments are limited to Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors. ED is the primary symptom of andropathy. This study reports the clinical efficacy of human stem cell-conditioned medium cream for ED treatment. Ten men without underlying diseases suspected of andropause with ED (mean age 43.2 ± 4.4 y, Hb 15.2 ± 0.6 gm/dL, AST/ALT 30.2/37.9 ± 12.4/14.0, eGFR 82.7 ± 12.4 mL/min/1.73 m2) were targeted. The cream was applied twice daily to the genital and scrotal areas. The erectile hardness score (EHS), International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), and Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) scale were used to evaluate the participants before and 30 days after use, and the results were compared using paired t-tests. The post-use qualitative opinions were collected through interviews. Significant improvements were observed compared to baseline in the IIEF-5 (11.8 ± 4.6→17.2 ± 5.1, P < 0.001), and AMS (46.3 ± 6.7→37.6 ± 5.3, P < 0.001) scores post cream use. EHS did not show a statistically significant difference, but a trend towards improvement was observed. Qualitative feedback included increased morning erection, improved maintenance of erection during intercourse, and reduced post work fatigue. Human stem cell-conditioned medium contains endothelial growth factors that potentially contribute to the improvement of ED and andropause by enhancing corporal endothelial function. Future studies should include control groups to further investigate the efficacy of these treatments.展开更多
This study evaluated the simulation performance of mesoscale convective system(MCS)-induced precipitation,focusing on three selected cases that originated from the Yellow Sea and propagated toward the Korean Peninsula...This study evaluated the simulation performance of mesoscale convective system(MCS)-induced precipitation,focusing on three selected cases that originated from the Yellow Sea and propagated toward the Korean Peninsula.The evaluation was conducted for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF)and National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)analysis data,as well as the simulation result using them as initial and lateral boundary conditions for the Weather Research and Forecasting model.Particularly,temperature and humidity profiles from 3D dropsonde observations from the National Center for Meteorological Science of the Korea Meteorological Administration served as validation data.Results showed that the ECMWF analysis consistently had smaller errors compared to the NCEP analysis,which exhibited a cold and dry bias in the lower levels below 850 hPa.The model,in terms of the precipitation simulations,particularly for high-intensity precipitation over the Yellow Sea,demonstrated higher accuracy when applying ECMWF analysis data as the initial condition.This advantage also positively influenced the simulation of rainfall events on the Korean Peninsula by reasonably inducing convective-favorable thermodynamic features(i.e.,warm and humid lower-level atmosphere)over the Yellow Sea.In conclusion,this study provides specific information about two global analysis datasets and their impacts on MCS-induced heavy rainfall simulation by employing dropsonde observation data.Furthermore,it suggests the need to enhance the initial field for MCS-induced heavy rainfall simulation and the applicability of assimilating dropsonde data for this purpose in the future.展开更多
In order to quantify the influence of external forcings on the predictability limit using observational data,the author introduced an algorithm of the conditional nonlinear local Lyapunov exponent(CNLLE)method.The eff...In order to quantify the influence of external forcings on the predictability limit using observational data,the author introduced an algorithm of the conditional nonlinear local Lyapunov exponent(CNLLE)method.The effectiveness of this algorithm is validated and compared with the nonlinear local Lyapunov exponent(NLLE)and signal-to-noise ratio methods using a coupled Lorenz model.The results show that the CNLLE method is able to capture the slow error growth constrained by external forcings,therefore,it can quantify the predictability limit induced by the external forcings.On this basis,a preliminary attempt was made to apply this method to measure the influence of ENSO on the predictability limit for both atmospheric and oceanic variable fields.The spatial distribution of the predictability limit induced by ENSO is similar to that arising from the initial conditions calculated by the NLLE method.This similarity supports ENSO as the major predictable signal for weather and climate prediction.In addition,a ratio of predictability limit(RPL)calculated by the CNLLE method to that calculated by the NLLE method was proposed.The RPL larger than 1 indicates that the external forcings can significantly benefit the long-term predictability limit.For instance,ENSO can effectively extend the predictability limit arising from the initial conditions of sea surface temperature over the tropical Indian Ocean by approximately four months,as well as the predictability limit of sea level pressure over the eastern and western Pacific Ocean.Moreover,the impact of ENSO on the geopotential height predictability limit is primarily confined to the troposphere.展开更多
The spiral-wound heat exchanger(SWHE) is the primary low-temperature heat exchanger for large-scale LNG plants due to its high-pressure resistance, compact structure, and high heat exchange efficiency. This paper stud...The spiral-wound heat exchanger(SWHE) is the primary low-temperature heat exchanger for large-scale LNG plants due to its high-pressure resistance, compact structure, and high heat exchange efficiency. This paper studied the shell-side heat and mass transfer characteristics of vapor-liquid two-phase mixed refrigerants in an SWHE by combining a multi-component model in FLUENT software with a customized multicomponent mass transfer model. Besides, the mathematical model under the sloshing condition was obtained through mathematical derivation, and the corresponding UDF code was loaded into FLUENT as the momentum source term. The results under the sloshing conditions were compared with the relevant parameters under the steady-state condition. The shell-side heat and mass transfer characteristics of the SWHE were investigated by adjusting the component ratio and other working conditions. It was found that the sloshing conditions enhance the heat transfer performance and sometimes have insignificant effects. The sloshing condition is beneficial to reduce the flow resistance. The comprehensive performance of multi-component refrigerants has been improved and the improvement is more significant under sloshing conditions, considering both the heat transfer and pressure drop.These results will provide theoretical support for the research and design of multi-component heat and mass transfer enhancement of LNG SWHE under ocean sloshing conditions.展开更多
Structural damage in heterogeneousmaterials typically originates frommicrostructures where stress concentration occurs.Therefore,evaluating the magnitude and location of localized stress distributions within microstru...Structural damage in heterogeneousmaterials typically originates frommicrostructures where stress concentration occurs.Therefore,evaluating the magnitude and location of localized stress distributions within microstructures under external loading is crucial.Repeating unit cells(RUCs)are commonly used to represent microstructural details and homogenize the effective response of composites.This work develops a machine learning-based micromechanics tool to accurately predict the stress distributions of extracted RUCs.The locally exact homogenization theory efficiently generates the microstructural stresses of RUCs with a wide range of parameters,including volume fraction,fiber/matrix property ratio,fiber shapes,and loading direction.Subsequently,the conditional generative adversarial network(cGAN)is employed and constructed as a surrogate model to establish the statistical correlation between these parameters and the corresponding localized stresses.The stresses predicted by cGAN are validated against the remaining true data not used for training,showing good agreement.This work demonstrates that the cGAN-based micromechanics tool effectively captures the local responses of composite RUCs.It can be used for predicting potential crack initiations starting from microstructures and evaluating the effective behavior of periodic composites.展开更多
Background The development of a sustainable business model with social acceptance,makes necessary to develop new strategies to guarantee the growth,health,and well-being of farmed animals.Debaryomyces hansenii is a ye...Background The development of a sustainable business model with social acceptance,makes necessary to develop new strategies to guarantee the growth,health,and well-being of farmed animals.Debaryomyces hansenii is a yeast species that can be used as a probiotic in aquaculture due to its capacity to i)promote cell proliferation and differen-tiation,ii)have immunostimulatory effects,iii)modulate gut microbiota,and/or iv)enhance the digestive function.To provide inside into the effects of D.hansenii on juveniles of gilthead seabream(Sparus aurata)condition,we inte-grated the evaluation of the main key performance indicators coupled with the integrative analysis of the intestine condition,through histological and microbiota state,and its transcriptomic profiling.Results After 70 days of a nutritional trial in which a diet with low levels of fishmeal(7%)was supplemented with 1.1%of D.hansenii(17.2×10^(5) CFU),an increase of ca.12%in somatic growth was observed together with an improve-ment in feed conversion in fish fed a yeast-supplemented diet.In terms of intestinal condition,this probiotic modu-lated gut microbiota without affecting the intestine cell organization,whereas an increase in the staining intensity of mucins rich in carboxylated and weakly sulphated glycoconjugates coupled with changes in the affinity for certain lectins were noted in goblet cells.Changes in microbiota were characterized by the reduction in abundance of several groups of Proteobacteria,especially those characterized as opportunistic groups.The microarrays-based transcrip-tomic analysis found 232 differential expressed genes in the anterior-mid intestine of S.aurata,that were mostly related to metabolic,antioxidant,immune,and symbiotic processes.Conclusions Dietary administration of D.hansenii enhanced somatic growth and improved feed efficiency param-eters,results that were coupled to an improvement of intestinal condition as histochemical and transcriptomic tools indicated.This probiotic yeast stimulated host-microbiota interactions without altering the intestinal cell organization nor generating dysbiosis,which demonstrated its safety as a feed additive.At the transcriptomic level,D.hansenii pro-moted metabolic pathways,mainly protein-related,sphingolipid,and thymidylate pathways,in addition to enhance antioxidant-related intestinal mechanisms,and to regulate sentinel immune processes,potentiating the defensive capacity meanwhile maintaining the homeostatic status of the intestine.展开更多
Soil aggregate is the basic structural unit of soil,which is the foundation for supporting ecosystem functions,while its composition and stability is significantly affected by the external environment.This study was c...Soil aggregate is the basic structural unit of soil,which is the foundation for supporting ecosystem functions,while its composition and stability is significantly affected by the external environment.This study was conducted to explore the effect of external environment(wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions)on the soil aggregate distribution and stability and identify the key soil physicochemical factors that affect the soil aggregate stability.The yellow‒brown soil from the Three Gorges Reservoir area(TGRA)was used,and 8 wetting-drying conditions(0,1,2,3,4,5,10 and 15 cycles)were simulated under 4 acidic conditions(pH=3,4,5 and 7).The particle size distribution and soil aggregate stability were determined by wet sieving method,the contribution of environmental factors(acid condition,wetting-drying cycle and their combined action)to the soil aggregate stability was clarified and the key soil physicochemical factors that affect the soil aggregate stability under wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions were determined by using the Pearson’s correlation analysis,Partial least squares path modeling(PLS‒PM)and multiple linear regression analysis.The results indicate that wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions have significant effects on the stability of soil aggregates,the soil aggregate stability gradually decreases with increasing number of wetting-drying cycles and it obviously decreases with the increase of acidity.Moreover,the combination of wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions aggravate the reduction in the soil aggregate stability.The wetting-drying cycles,acidic conditions and their combined effect imposes significant impact on the soil aggregate stability,and the wetting-drying cycles exert the greatest influence.The soil aggregate stability is significantly correlated with the pH,Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+),maximum disintegration index(MDI)and soil bulk density(SBD).The PLS‒PM and multiple linear regression analysis further reveal that the soil aggregate stability is primarily influenced by SBD,Ca^(2+),and MDI.These results offer a scientific basis for understanding the soil aggregate breakdown mechanism and are helpful for clarifying the coupled effect of wetting-drying cycles and acid rain on terrestrial ecosystems in the TGRA.展开更多
High-precision and real-time diagnosis of sucker rod pumping system(SRPS)is important for quickly mastering oil well operations.Deep learning-based method for classifying the dynamometer card(DC)of oil wells is an eff...High-precision and real-time diagnosis of sucker rod pumping system(SRPS)is important for quickly mastering oil well operations.Deep learning-based method for classifying the dynamometer card(DC)of oil wells is an efficient diagnosis method.However,the input of the DC as a two-dimensional image into the deep learning framework suffers from low feature utilization and high computational effort.Additionally,different SRPSs in an oil field have various system parameters,and the same SRPS generates different DCs at different moments.Thus,there is heterogeneity in field data,which can dramatically impair the diagnostic accuracy.To solve the above problems,a working condition recognition method based on 4-segment time-frequency signature matrix(4S-TFSM)and deep learning is presented in this paper.First,the 4-segment time-frequency signature(4S-TFS)method that can reduce the computing power requirements is proposed for feature extraction of DC data.Subsequently,the 4S-TFSM is constructed by relative normalization and matrix calculation to synthesize the features of multiple data and solve the problem of data heterogeneity.Finally,a convolutional neural network(CNN),one of the deep learning frameworks,is used to determine the functioning conditions based on the 4S-TFSM.Experiments on field data verify that the proposed diagnostic method based on 4S-TFSM and CNN(4S-TFSM-CNN)can significantly improve the accuracy of working condition recognition with lower computational cost.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first work to discuss the effect of data heterogeneity on the working condition recognition performance of SRPS.展开更多
Neuromorphic hardware equipped with associative learn-ing capabilities presents fascinating applications in the next generation of artificial intelligence.However,research into synaptic devices exhibiting complex asso...Neuromorphic hardware equipped with associative learn-ing capabilities presents fascinating applications in the next generation of artificial intelligence.However,research into synaptic devices exhibiting complex associative learning behaviors is still nascent.Here,an optoelec-tronic memristor based on Ag/TiO_(2) Nanowires:ZnO Quantum dots/FTO was proposed and constructed to emulate the biological associative learning behaviors.Effective implementation of synaptic behaviors,including long and short-term plasticity,and learning-forgetting-relearning behaviors,were achieved in the device through the application of light and electrical stimuli.Leveraging the optoelectronic co-modulated characteristics,a simulation of neuromorphic computing was conducted,resulting in a handwriting digit recognition accuracy of 88.9%.Furthermore,a 3×7 memristor array was constructed,confirming its application in artificial visual memory.Most importantly,complex biological associative learning behaviors were emulated by mapping the light and electrical stimuli into conditioned and unconditioned stimuli,respectively.After training through associative pairs,reflexes could be triggered solely using light stimuli.Comprehen-sively,under specific optoelectronic signal applications,the four features of classical conditioning,namely acquisition,extinction,recovery,and generalization,were elegantly emulated.This work provides an optoelectronic memristor with associative behavior capabilities,offering a pathway for advancing brain-machine interfaces,autonomous robots,and machine self-learning in the future.展开更多
Accurate initial soil conditions play a crucial role in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes in land surface process modeling.This study emphasized the influence of the initial soil temperature(ST)an...Accurate initial soil conditions play a crucial role in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes in land surface process modeling.This study emphasized the influence of the initial soil temperature(ST)and soil moisture(SM)conditions on a land surface energy and water simulation in the permafrost region in the Tibetan Plateau(TP)using the Community Land Model version 5.0(CLM5.0).The results indicate that the default initial schemes for ST and SM in CLM5.0 were simplistic,and inaccurately represented the soil characteristics of permafrost in the TP which led to underestimating ST during the freezing period while overestimating ST and underestimating SLW during the thawing period at the XDT site.Applying the long-term spin-up method to obtain initial soil conditions has only led to limited improvement in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.The modified initial soil schemes proposed in this study comprehensively incorporate the characteristics of permafrost,which coexists with soil liquid water(SLW),and soil ice(SI)when the ST is below freezing temperature,effectively enhancing the accuracy of the simulated soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.Consequently,the modified initial soil schemes greatly improved upon the results achieved through the long-term spin-up method.Three modified initial soil schemes experiments resulted in a 64%,88%,and 77%reduction in the average mean bias error(MBE)of ST,and a 13%,21%,and 19%reduction in the average root-mean-square error(RMSE)of SLW compared to the default simulation results.Also,the average MBE of net radiation was reduced by 7%,22%,and 21%.展开更多
The determination of the ultimate load-bearing capacity of structures made of elastoplastic heterogeneous materials under varying loads is of great importance for engineering analysis and design. Therefore, it is nece...The determination of the ultimate load-bearing capacity of structures made of elastoplastic heterogeneous materials under varying loads is of great importance for engineering analysis and design. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately predict the shakedown domains of these materials. The static shakedown theorem, also known as Melan's theorem, is a fundamental method used to predict the shakedown domains of structures and materials. Within this method, a key aspect lies in the construction and application of an appropriate self-equilibrium stress field(SSF). In the structural shakedown analysis, the SSF is typically constructed by governing equations that satisfy no external force(NEF) boundary conditions. However, we discover that directly applying these governing equations is not suitable for the shakedown analysis of heterogeneous materials. Researchers must consider the requirements imposed by the Hill-Mandel condition for boundary conditions and the physical significance of representative volume elements(RVEs). This paper addresses this issue and demonstrates that the sizes of SSFs vary under different boundary conditions, such as uniform displacement boundary conditions(DBCs), uniform traction boundary conditions(TBCs), and periodic boundary conditions(PBCs). As a result, significant discrepancies arise in the predicted shakedown domain sizes of heterogeneous materials. Built on the demonstrated relationship between SSFs under different boundary conditions, this study explores the conservative relationships among different shakedown domains, and provides proof of the relationship between the elastic limit(EL) factors and the shakedown loading factors under the loading domain of two load vertices. By utilizing numerical examples, we highlight the conservatism present in certain results reported in the existing literature. Among the investigated boundary conditions, the obtained shakedown domain is the most conservative under TBCs.Conversely, utilizing PBCs to construct an SSF for the shakedown analysis leads to less conservative lower bounds, indicating that PBCs should be employed as the preferred boundary conditions for the shakedown analysis of heterogeneous materials.展开更多
Background:Combined knee valgus and tibial internal rotation(VL+IR)moments have been shown to stress the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)in several in vitro cadaveric studies.To utilize this knowledge for non-contact A...Background:Combined knee valgus and tibial internal rotation(VL+IR)moments have been shown to stress the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)in several in vitro cadaveric studies.To utilize this knowledge for non-contact ACL injury prevention in sports,it is necessary to elucidate how the ground reaction force(GRF)acting point(center of pressure(CoP))in the stance foot produces combined knee VL+IR moments in risky maneuvers,such as cuttings.However,the effects of the GRF acting point on the development of the combined knee VL+IR moment in cutting are still unknown.Methods:We first established the deterministic mechanical condition that the CoP position relative to the tibial rotational axis differentiates the GRF vector’s directional probability for developing the combined knee VL+IR moment,and theoretically predicted that when the CoP is posterior to the tibial rotational axis,the GRF vector is more likely to produce the combined knee VL+IR moment than when the CoP is anterior to the tibial rotational axis.Then,we tested a stochastic aspect of our theory in a lab-controlled in vivo experiment.Fourteen females performed 60˚cutting under forefoot/rearfoot strike conditions(10 trials each).The positions of lower limb markers and GRF data were measured,and the knee moment due to GRF vector was calculated.The trials were divided into anterior-and posterior-CoP groups depending on the CoP position relative to the tibial rotational axis at each 10 ms interval from 0 to 100 ms after foot strike,and the occurrence rate of the combined knee VL+IR moment was compared between trial groups.Results:The posterior-CoP group showed significantly higher occurrence rates of the combined knee VL+IR moment(maximum of 82.8%)at every time point than those of the anterior-CoP trials,as theoretically predicted by the deterministic mechanical condition.Conclusion:The rearfoot strikes inducing the posterior CoP should be avoided to reduce the risk of non-contact ACL injury associated with the combined knee VL+IR stress.展开更多
In the existing landslide susceptibility prediction(LSP)models,the influences of random errors in landslide conditioning factors on LSP are not considered,instead the original conditioning factors are directly taken a...In the existing landslide susceptibility prediction(LSP)models,the influences of random errors in landslide conditioning factors on LSP are not considered,instead the original conditioning factors are directly taken as the model inputs,which brings uncertainties to LSP results.This study aims to reveal the influence rules of the different proportional random errors in conditioning factors on the LSP un-certainties,and further explore a method which can effectively reduce the random errors in conditioning factors.The original conditioning factors are firstly used to construct original factors-based LSP models,and then different random errors of 5%,10%,15% and 20%are added to these original factors for con-structing relevant errors-based LSP models.Secondly,low-pass filter-based LSP models are constructed by eliminating the random errors using low-pass filter method.Thirdly,the Ruijin County of China with 370 landslides and 16 conditioning factors are used as study case.Three typical machine learning models,i.e.multilayer perceptron(MLP),support vector machine(SVM)and random forest(RF),are selected as LSP models.Finally,the LSP uncertainties are discussed and results show that:(1)The low-pass filter can effectively reduce the random errors in conditioning factors to decrease the LSP uncertainties.(2)With the proportions of random errors increasing from 5%to 20%,the LSP uncertainty increases continuously.(3)The original factors-based models are feasible for LSP in the absence of more accurate conditioning factors.(4)The influence degrees of two uncertainty issues,machine learning models and different proportions of random errors,on the LSP modeling are large and basically the same.(5)The Shapley values effectively explain the internal mechanism of machine learning model predicting landslide sus-ceptibility.In conclusion,greater proportion of random errors in conditioning factors results in higher LSP uncertainty,and low-pass filter can effectively reduce these random errors.展开更多
Conditioning regimens employed in autologous stem cell transplantation have been proven useful in various hematological disorders and underlying malignancies;however,despite being efficacious in various instances,nega...Conditioning regimens employed in autologous stem cell transplantation have been proven useful in various hematological disorders and underlying malignancies;however,despite being efficacious in various instances,negative consequences have also been recorded.Multiple conditioning regimens were extracted from various literature searches from databases like PubMed,Google scholar,EMBASE,and Cochrane.Conditioning regimens for each disease were compared by using various end points such as overall survival(OS),progression free survival(PFS),and leukemia free survival(LFS).Variables were presented on graphs and analyzed to conclude a more efficacious conditioning regimen.In multiple myeloma,the most effective regimen was high dose melphalan(MEL)given at a dose of 200/mg/m2.The comparative results of acute myeloid leukemia were presented and the regimens that proved to be at an admirable position were busulfan(BU)+MEL regarding OS and BU+VP16 regarding LFS.In case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL),BU,fludarabine,and etoposide(BuFluVP)conferred good disease control not only with a paramount improvement in survival rate but also low risk of recurrence.However,for ALL,chimeric antigen receptor(CAR)T cell therapy was preferred in the context of better OS and LFS.With respect to Hodgkin’s lymphoma,mitoxantrone(MITO)/MEL overtook carmustine,VP16,cytarabine,and MEL in view of PFS and vice versa regarding OS.Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients were administered MITO(60 mg/m2)and MEL(180 mg/m2)which showed promising results.Lastly,amyloidosis was considered,and the regimen that proved to be competent was MEL 200(200 mg/m2).This review article demonstrates a comparison between various conditioning regimens employed in different diseases.展开更多
Human dental pulp stem cell transplantation has been shown to be an effective therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury.However,whether the human dental pulp stem cell secretome can contribute to functional recovery...Human dental pulp stem cell transplantation has been shown to be an effective therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury.However,whether the human dental pulp stem cell secretome can contribute to functional recovery after spinal cord injury remains unclear.In the present study,we established a rat model of spinal cord injury based on impact injury from a dropped weight and then intraperitoneally injected the rats with conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells.We found that the conditioned medium effectively promoted the recovery of sensory and motor functions in rats with spinal cord injury,decreased expression of the microglial pyroptosis markers NLRP3,GSDMD,caspase-1,and interleukin-1β,promoted axonal and myelin regeneration,and inhibited the formation of glial scars.In addition,in a lipopolysaccharide-induced BV2 microglia model,conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells protected cells from pyroptosis by inhibiting the NLRP3/caspase-1/interleukin-1βpathway.These results indicate that conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells can reduce microglial pyroptosis by inhibiting the NLRP3/caspase-1/interleukin-1βpathway,thereby promoting the recovery of neurological function after spinal cord injury.Therefore,conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells may become an alternative therapy for spinal cord injury.展开更多
Copula functions have been widely used in stochastic simulation and prediction of streamflow.However,existing models are usually limited to single two-dimensional or three-dimensional copulas with the same bivariate b...Copula functions have been widely used in stochastic simulation and prediction of streamflow.However,existing models are usually limited to single two-dimensional or three-dimensional copulas with the same bivariate block for all months.To address this limitation,this study developed a mixed D-vine copula-based conditional quantile model that can capture temporal correlations.This model can generate streamflow by selecting different historical streamflow variables as the conditions for different months and by exploiting the conditional quantile functions of streamflows in different months with mixed D-vine copulas.The up-to-down sequential method,which couples the maximum weight approach with the Akaike information criteria and the maximum likelihood approach,was used to determine the structures of multivariate Dvine copulas.The developed model was used in a case study to synthesize the monthly streamflow at the Tangnaihai hydrological station,the inflow control station of the Longyangxia Reservoir in the Yellow River Basin.The results showed that the developed model outperformed the commonly used bivariate copula model in terms of the performance in simulating the seasonality and interannual variability of streamflow.This model provides useful information for water-related natural hazard risk assessment and integrated water resources management and utilization.展开更多
Laminated composites are widely used in many engineering industries such as aircraft, spacecraft, boat hulls, racing car bodies, and storage tanks. We analyze the 3D deformations of a multilayered, linear elastic, ani...Laminated composites are widely used in many engineering industries such as aircraft, spacecraft, boat hulls, racing car bodies, and storage tanks. We analyze the 3D deformations of a multilayered, linear elastic, anisotropic rectangular plate subjected to arbitrary boundary conditions on one edge and simply supported on other edge. The rectangular laminate consists of anisotropic and homogeneous laminae of arbitrary thicknesses. This study presents the elastic analysis of laminated composite plates subjected to sinusoidal mechanical loading under arbitrary boundary conditions. Least square finite element solutions for displacements and stresses are investigated using a mathematical model, called a state-space model, which allows us to simultaneously solve for these field variables in the composite structure’s domain and ensure that continuity conditions are satisfied at layer interfaces. The governing equations are derived from this model using a numerical technique called the least-squares finite element method (LSFEM). These LSFEMs seek to minimize the squares of the governing equations and the associated side conditions residuals over the computational domain. The model is comprised of layerwise variables such as displacements, out-of-plane stresses, and in- plane strains, treated as independent variables. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the response of the laminated composite plates under various arbitrary boundary conditions using LSFEM and compared with the 3D elasticity solution available in the literature.展开更多
A photovoltaic (PV) string with multiple modules with bypass diodes frequently deployed on a variety of autonomous PV systems may present multiple power peaks under uneven shading. For optimal solar harvesting, there ...A photovoltaic (PV) string with multiple modules with bypass diodes frequently deployed on a variety of autonomous PV systems may present multiple power peaks under uneven shading. For optimal solar harvesting, there is a need for a control schema to force the PV string to operate at global maximum power point (GMPP). While a lot of tracking methods have been proposed in the literature, they are usually complex and do not fully take advantage of the available characteristics of the PV array. This work highlights how the voltage at operating point and the forward voltage of the bypass diode are considered to design a global maximum power point tracking (GMPPT) algorithm with a very limited global search phase called Fast GMPPT. This algorithm successfully tracks GMPP between 94% and 98% of the time under a theoretical evaluation. It is then compared against Perturb and Observe, Deterministic Particle Swarm Optimization, and Grey Wolf Optimization under a sequence of irradiance steps as well as a power-over-voltage characteristics profile that mimics the electrical characteristics of a PV string under varying partial shading conditions. Overall, the simulation with the sequence of irradiance steps shows that while Fast GMPPT does not have the best convergence time, it has an excellent convergence rate as well as causes the least amount of power loss during the global search phase. Experimental test under varying partial shading conditions shows that while the GMPPT proposal is simple and lightweight, it is very performant under a wide range of dynamically varying partial shading conditions and boasts the best energy efficiency (94.74%) out of the 4 tested algorithms.展开更多
Background: Physical functional decline is common among elderly individuals with mental disorders, worsening their symptoms. Physiotherapy interventions have shown some evidence in improving physical function and ment...Background: Physical functional decline is common among elderly individuals with mental disorders, worsening their symptoms. Physiotherapy interventions have shown some evidence in improving physical function and mental health outcomes in this population. This study aimed to assess the impact of physiotherapy interventions on the elderly with mental health conditions at Chainama Hills College Hospital in Zambia. Methods: A pre-post single sample design was used to track patient progress over six weeks, with 10 physiotherapy sessions. The study population (N = 30) comprised of all elderly individuals with mental health conditions, encompassing both men and women, who were hospitalized during the research period. The Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living and the six-minute walk test were evaluated before and after the intervention. The IBM SPSS version 26 was used to analyze data and results were presented as mean ± SD with a 95% confidence interval. The variables were described in terms of their mean, SD, and range. A significance level of 0.05 was used for a paired T-test to detect changes and multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with mental health. Results: Following the intervention, the percentage of participants achieving full function and independence increased significantly to 96.7% from the initial 73.3%, supported by a 95% CI = [0.82 - 0.99]. There was also a notable decrease in the proportion of individuals experiencing moderate impairment, dropping from 26.7% to just 3.3%, with a corresponding 95% CI = [0.00 - 0.17]. Conclusion: The findings derived from this study illustrate an enhancement in the aspects of participants’ overall health and functional condition, including blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. Consequently, physiotherapy exercises can be employed as a tactic to ameliorate the functional status and physical well-being of older individuals afflicted with mental disorders in Zambia.展开更多
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(ZR2023MA023,ZR2021MA047)Guangdong Provincial Featured Innovation Projects of High School(2023KTSCX067).
文摘A class of Sturm-Liouville problems with discontinuity is studied in this paper.The oscillation properties of eigenfunctions for Sturm-Liouville problems with interface conditions are obtained.The main method used in this paper is based on Prufer transformation,which is different from the classical ones.Moreover,we give two examples to verify our main results.
文摘Erectile dysfunction (ED) is increasingly prevalent in Japan, exceeding 30%, and increasing with age. Unhealthy lifestyle habits, obesity, insufficient exercise, and smoking have been implicated in its pathogenesis, along with endothelial dysfunction of the corpora cavernosa and impaired blood flow to the penis considered underlying factors. However, the current treatments are limited to Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors. ED is the primary symptom of andropathy. This study reports the clinical efficacy of human stem cell-conditioned medium cream for ED treatment. Ten men without underlying diseases suspected of andropause with ED (mean age 43.2 ± 4.4 y, Hb 15.2 ± 0.6 gm/dL, AST/ALT 30.2/37.9 ± 12.4/14.0, eGFR 82.7 ± 12.4 mL/min/1.73 m2) were targeted. The cream was applied twice daily to the genital and scrotal areas. The erectile hardness score (EHS), International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), and Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) scale were used to evaluate the participants before and 30 days after use, and the results were compared using paired t-tests. The post-use qualitative opinions were collected through interviews. Significant improvements were observed compared to baseline in the IIEF-5 (11.8 ± 4.6→17.2 ± 5.1, P < 0.001), and AMS (46.3 ± 6.7→37.6 ± 5.3, P < 0.001) scores post cream use. EHS did not show a statistically significant difference, but a trend towards improvement was observed. Qualitative feedback included increased morning erection, improved maintenance of erection during intercourse, and reduced post work fatigue. Human stem cell-conditioned medium contains endothelial growth factors that potentially contribute to the improvement of ED and andropause by enhancing corporal endothelial function. Future studies should include control groups to further investigate the efficacy of these treatments.
基金supported by the Korea Meteorological Administration Research and Development Program“Developing Application Technology for Atmospheric ResearchAircraft”(Grant No.KMA2018-00222)Donghyuck YOON under award NA18OAR4320123 and NA23OAR4320198 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,U.S.
文摘This study evaluated the simulation performance of mesoscale convective system(MCS)-induced precipitation,focusing on three selected cases that originated from the Yellow Sea and propagated toward the Korean Peninsula.The evaluation was conducted for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF)and National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)analysis data,as well as the simulation result using them as initial and lateral boundary conditions for the Weather Research and Forecasting model.Particularly,temperature and humidity profiles from 3D dropsonde observations from the National Center for Meteorological Science of the Korea Meteorological Administration served as validation data.Results showed that the ECMWF analysis consistently had smaller errors compared to the NCEP analysis,which exhibited a cold and dry bias in the lower levels below 850 hPa.The model,in terms of the precipitation simulations,particularly for high-intensity precipitation over the Yellow Sea,demonstrated higher accuracy when applying ECMWF analysis data as the initial condition.This advantage also positively influenced the simulation of rainfall events on the Korean Peninsula by reasonably inducing convective-favorable thermodynamic features(i.e.,warm and humid lower-level atmosphere)over the Yellow Sea.In conclusion,this study provides specific information about two global analysis datasets and their impacts on MCS-induced heavy rainfall simulation by employing dropsonde observation data.Furthermore,it suggests the need to enhance the initial field for MCS-induced heavy rainfall simulation and the applicability of assimilating dropsonde data for this purpose in the future.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42225501 and 42105059)the National Key Scientific and Tech-nological Infrastructure project“Earth System Numerical Simula-tion Facility”(EarthLab).
文摘In order to quantify the influence of external forcings on the predictability limit using observational data,the author introduced an algorithm of the conditional nonlinear local Lyapunov exponent(CNLLE)method.The effectiveness of this algorithm is validated and compared with the nonlinear local Lyapunov exponent(NLLE)and signal-to-noise ratio methods using a coupled Lorenz model.The results show that the CNLLE method is able to capture the slow error growth constrained by external forcings,therefore,it can quantify the predictability limit induced by the external forcings.On this basis,a preliminary attempt was made to apply this method to measure the influence of ENSO on the predictability limit for both atmospheric and oceanic variable fields.The spatial distribution of the predictability limit induced by ENSO is similar to that arising from the initial conditions calculated by the NLLE method.This similarity supports ENSO as the major predictable signal for weather and climate prediction.In addition,a ratio of predictability limit(RPL)calculated by the CNLLE method to that calculated by the NLLE method was proposed.The RPL larger than 1 indicates that the external forcings can significantly benefit the long-term predictability limit.For instance,ENSO can effectively extend the predictability limit arising from the initial conditions of sea surface temperature over the tropical Indian Ocean by approximately four months,as well as the predictability limit of sea level pressure over the eastern and western Pacific Ocean.Moreover,the impact of ENSO on the geopotential height predictability limit is primarily confined to the troposphere.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51806236,No.51806239)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.2015XKMS059)+1 种基金Shaanxi Postdoctoral Fund Project(No.2018BSHEDZZ56)Foundation of Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering(Xi'an Jiaotong University),Ministry of Education(No.KLTFSE2017KF01)。
文摘The spiral-wound heat exchanger(SWHE) is the primary low-temperature heat exchanger for large-scale LNG plants due to its high-pressure resistance, compact structure, and high heat exchange efficiency. This paper studied the shell-side heat and mass transfer characteristics of vapor-liquid two-phase mixed refrigerants in an SWHE by combining a multi-component model in FLUENT software with a customized multicomponent mass transfer model. Besides, the mathematical model under the sloshing condition was obtained through mathematical derivation, and the corresponding UDF code was loaded into FLUENT as the momentum source term. The results under the sloshing conditions were compared with the relevant parameters under the steady-state condition. The shell-side heat and mass transfer characteristics of the SWHE were investigated by adjusting the component ratio and other working conditions. It was found that the sloshing conditions enhance the heat transfer performance and sometimes have insignificant effects. The sloshing condition is beneficial to reduce the flow resistance. The comprehensive performance of multi-component refrigerants has been improved and the improvement is more significant under sloshing conditions, considering both the heat transfer and pressure drop.These results will provide theoretical support for the research and design of multi-component heat and mass transfer enhancement of LNG SWHE under ocean sloshing conditions.
基金the support from the National Key R&D Program of China underGrant(Grant No.2020YFA0711700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52122801,11925206,51978609,U22A20254,and U23A20659)G.W.is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.12002303,12192210 and 12192214).
文摘Structural damage in heterogeneousmaterials typically originates frommicrostructures where stress concentration occurs.Therefore,evaluating the magnitude and location of localized stress distributions within microstructures under external loading is crucial.Repeating unit cells(RUCs)are commonly used to represent microstructural details and homogenize the effective response of composites.This work develops a machine learning-based micromechanics tool to accurately predict the stress distributions of extracted RUCs.The locally exact homogenization theory efficiently generates the microstructural stresses of RUCs with a wide range of parameters,including volume fraction,fiber/matrix property ratio,fiber shapes,and loading direction.Subsequently,the conditional generative adversarial network(cGAN)is employed and constructed as a surrogate model to establish the statistical correlation between these parameters and the corresponding localized stresses.The stresses predicted by cGAN are validated against the remaining true data not used for training,showing good agreement.This work demonstrates that the cGAN-based micromechanics tool effectively captures the local responses of composite RUCs.It can be used for predicting potential crack initiations starting from microstructures and evaluating the effective behavior of periodic composites.
基金financed through the DIETAplus project of JACUMAR(Junta de Cultivos Marinos,MAPAMASpanish government),which is cofunded with FEMP funds(EU)+3 种基金funded by means of grants from the Spanish Government:PID2019-106878RB-I00 and IS was granted with a Postdoctoral fellowship(FJC2020-043933-I)support of Fondecyt iniciación(project number 11221308)Fondecyt regular(project number 11221308)grants(Agencia Nacional de Investigacióny Desarrollo de Chile,Government of Chile),respectivelythe framework of the network LARVAplus“Strategies for the development and im-provement of fish larvae production in Ibero-America”(117RT0521)funded by the Ibero-American Program of Science and Technology for Development(CYTED,Spain)。
文摘Background The development of a sustainable business model with social acceptance,makes necessary to develop new strategies to guarantee the growth,health,and well-being of farmed animals.Debaryomyces hansenii is a yeast species that can be used as a probiotic in aquaculture due to its capacity to i)promote cell proliferation and differen-tiation,ii)have immunostimulatory effects,iii)modulate gut microbiota,and/or iv)enhance the digestive function.To provide inside into the effects of D.hansenii on juveniles of gilthead seabream(Sparus aurata)condition,we inte-grated the evaluation of the main key performance indicators coupled with the integrative analysis of the intestine condition,through histological and microbiota state,and its transcriptomic profiling.Results After 70 days of a nutritional trial in which a diet with low levels of fishmeal(7%)was supplemented with 1.1%of D.hansenii(17.2×10^(5) CFU),an increase of ca.12%in somatic growth was observed together with an improve-ment in feed conversion in fish fed a yeast-supplemented diet.In terms of intestinal condition,this probiotic modu-lated gut microbiota without affecting the intestine cell organization,whereas an increase in the staining intensity of mucins rich in carboxylated and weakly sulphated glycoconjugates coupled with changes in the affinity for certain lectins were noted in goblet cells.Changes in microbiota were characterized by the reduction in abundance of several groups of Proteobacteria,especially those characterized as opportunistic groups.The microarrays-based transcrip-tomic analysis found 232 differential expressed genes in the anterior-mid intestine of S.aurata,that were mostly related to metabolic,antioxidant,immune,and symbiotic processes.Conclusions Dietary administration of D.hansenii enhanced somatic growth and improved feed efficiency param-eters,results that were coupled to an improvement of intestinal condition as histochemical and transcriptomic tools indicated.This probiotic yeast stimulated host-microbiota interactions without altering the intestinal cell organization nor generating dysbiosis,which demonstrated its safety as a feed additive.At the transcriptomic level,D.hansenii pro-moted metabolic pathways,mainly protein-related,sphingolipid,and thymidylate pathways,in addition to enhance antioxidant-related intestinal mechanisms,and to regulate sentinel immune processes,potentiating the defensive capacity meanwhile maintaining the homeostatic status of the intestine.
基金co-funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(U204020742277323)+2 种基金the 111 Project of Hubei Province(2021EJD026)the open fund of Key Laboratory of Geological Hazards on Three Gorges Reservoir Area(China Three Gorges University)Ministry of Education(2022KDZ24).
文摘Soil aggregate is the basic structural unit of soil,which is the foundation for supporting ecosystem functions,while its composition and stability is significantly affected by the external environment.This study was conducted to explore the effect of external environment(wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions)on the soil aggregate distribution and stability and identify the key soil physicochemical factors that affect the soil aggregate stability.The yellow‒brown soil from the Three Gorges Reservoir area(TGRA)was used,and 8 wetting-drying conditions(0,1,2,3,4,5,10 and 15 cycles)were simulated under 4 acidic conditions(pH=3,4,5 and 7).The particle size distribution and soil aggregate stability were determined by wet sieving method,the contribution of environmental factors(acid condition,wetting-drying cycle and their combined action)to the soil aggregate stability was clarified and the key soil physicochemical factors that affect the soil aggregate stability under wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions were determined by using the Pearson’s correlation analysis,Partial least squares path modeling(PLS‒PM)and multiple linear regression analysis.The results indicate that wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions have significant effects on the stability of soil aggregates,the soil aggregate stability gradually decreases with increasing number of wetting-drying cycles and it obviously decreases with the increase of acidity.Moreover,the combination of wetting-drying cycles and acidic conditions aggravate the reduction in the soil aggregate stability.The wetting-drying cycles,acidic conditions and their combined effect imposes significant impact on the soil aggregate stability,and the wetting-drying cycles exert the greatest influence.The soil aggregate stability is significantly correlated with the pH,Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+),maximum disintegration index(MDI)and soil bulk density(SBD).The PLS‒PM and multiple linear regression analysis further reveal that the soil aggregate stability is primarily influenced by SBD,Ca^(2+),and MDI.These results offer a scientific basis for understanding the soil aggregate breakdown mechanism and are helpful for clarifying the coupled effect of wetting-drying cycles and acid rain on terrestrial ecosystems in the TGRA.
基金We would like to thank the associate editor and the reviewers for their constructive comments.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 62203234in part by the State Key Laboratory of Robotics of China under Grant 2023-Z03+1 种基金in part by the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province under Grant 2023-BS-025in part by the Research Program of Liaoning Liaohe Laboratory under Grant LLL23ZZ-02-02.
文摘High-precision and real-time diagnosis of sucker rod pumping system(SRPS)is important for quickly mastering oil well operations.Deep learning-based method for classifying the dynamometer card(DC)of oil wells is an efficient diagnosis method.However,the input of the DC as a two-dimensional image into the deep learning framework suffers from low feature utilization and high computational effort.Additionally,different SRPSs in an oil field have various system parameters,and the same SRPS generates different DCs at different moments.Thus,there is heterogeneity in field data,which can dramatically impair the diagnostic accuracy.To solve the above problems,a working condition recognition method based on 4-segment time-frequency signature matrix(4S-TFSM)and deep learning is presented in this paper.First,the 4-segment time-frequency signature(4S-TFS)method that can reduce the computing power requirements is proposed for feature extraction of DC data.Subsequently,the 4S-TFSM is constructed by relative normalization and matrix calculation to synthesize the features of multiple data and solve the problem of data heterogeneity.Finally,a convolutional neural network(CNN),one of the deep learning frameworks,is used to determine the functioning conditions based on the 4S-TFSM.Experiments on field data verify that the proposed diagnostic method based on 4S-TFSM and CNN(4S-TFSM-CNN)can significantly improve the accuracy of working condition recognition with lower computational cost.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first work to discuss the effect of data heterogeneity on the working condition recognition performance of SRPS.
基金This work was supported by the Jinan City-University Integrated Development Strategy Project under Grant(JNSX2023017)National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)grant funded by the Korea government(MIST)(RS-2023-00302751)+1 种基金by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Ministry of Education under Grants 2018R1A6A1A03025242 and 2018R1D1A1A09083353by Qilu Young Scholar Program of Shandong University.
文摘Neuromorphic hardware equipped with associative learn-ing capabilities presents fascinating applications in the next generation of artificial intelligence.However,research into synaptic devices exhibiting complex associative learning behaviors is still nascent.Here,an optoelec-tronic memristor based on Ag/TiO_(2) Nanowires:ZnO Quantum dots/FTO was proposed and constructed to emulate the biological associative learning behaviors.Effective implementation of synaptic behaviors,including long and short-term plasticity,and learning-forgetting-relearning behaviors,were achieved in the device through the application of light and electrical stimuli.Leveraging the optoelectronic co-modulated characteristics,a simulation of neuromorphic computing was conducted,resulting in a handwriting digit recognition accuracy of 88.9%.Furthermore,a 3×7 memristor array was constructed,confirming its application in artificial visual memory.Most importantly,complex biological associative learning behaviors were emulated by mapping the light and electrical stimuli into conditioned and unconditioned stimuli,respectively.After training through associative pairs,reflexes could be triggered solely using light stimuli.Comprehen-sively,under specific optoelectronic signal applications,the four features of classical conditioning,namely acquisition,extinction,recovery,and generalization,were elegantly emulated.This work provides an optoelectronic memristor with associative behavior capabilities,offering a pathway for advancing brain-machine interfaces,autonomous robots,and machine self-learning in the future.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U20A2081)West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.xbzg-zdsys-202102)the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research(STEP)Project(Grant No.2019QZKK0105).
文摘Accurate initial soil conditions play a crucial role in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes in land surface process modeling.This study emphasized the influence of the initial soil temperature(ST)and soil moisture(SM)conditions on a land surface energy and water simulation in the permafrost region in the Tibetan Plateau(TP)using the Community Land Model version 5.0(CLM5.0).The results indicate that the default initial schemes for ST and SM in CLM5.0 were simplistic,and inaccurately represented the soil characteristics of permafrost in the TP which led to underestimating ST during the freezing period while overestimating ST and underestimating SLW during the thawing period at the XDT site.Applying the long-term spin-up method to obtain initial soil conditions has only led to limited improvement in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.The modified initial soil schemes proposed in this study comprehensively incorporate the characteristics of permafrost,which coexists with soil liquid water(SLW),and soil ice(SI)when the ST is below freezing temperature,effectively enhancing the accuracy of the simulated soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.Consequently,the modified initial soil schemes greatly improved upon the results achieved through the long-term spin-up method.Three modified initial soil schemes experiments resulted in a 64%,88%,and 77%reduction in the average mean bias error(MBE)of ST,and a 13%,21%,and 19%reduction in the average root-mean-square error(RMSE)of SLW compared to the default simulation results.Also,the average MBE of net radiation was reduced by 7%,22%,and 21%.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52075070 and12302254)the Dalian City Supports Innovation and Entrepreneurship Projects for High-Level Talents (No. 2021RD16)the Liaoning Revitalization Talents Program (No. XLYC2002108)。
文摘The determination of the ultimate load-bearing capacity of structures made of elastoplastic heterogeneous materials under varying loads is of great importance for engineering analysis and design. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately predict the shakedown domains of these materials. The static shakedown theorem, also known as Melan's theorem, is a fundamental method used to predict the shakedown domains of structures and materials. Within this method, a key aspect lies in the construction and application of an appropriate self-equilibrium stress field(SSF). In the structural shakedown analysis, the SSF is typically constructed by governing equations that satisfy no external force(NEF) boundary conditions. However, we discover that directly applying these governing equations is not suitable for the shakedown analysis of heterogeneous materials. Researchers must consider the requirements imposed by the Hill-Mandel condition for boundary conditions and the physical significance of representative volume elements(RVEs). This paper addresses this issue and demonstrates that the sizes of SSFs vary under different boundary conditions, such as uniform displacement boundary conditions(DBCs), uniform traction boundary conditions(TBCs), and periodic boundary conditions(PBCs). As a result, significant discrepancies arise in the predicted shakedown domain sizes of heterogeneous materials. Built on the demonstrated relationship between SSFs under different boundary conditions, this study explores the conservative relationships among different shakedown domains, and provides proof of the relationship between the elastic limit(EL) factors and the shakedown loading factors under the loading domain of two load vertices. By utilizing numerical examples, we highlight the conservatism present in certain results reported in the existing literature. Among the investigated boundary conditions, the obtained shakedown domain is the most conservative under TBCs.Conversely, utilizing PBCs to construct an SSF for the shakedown analysis leads to less conservative lower bounds, indicating that PBCs should be employed as the preferred boundary conditions for the shakedown analysis of heterogeneous materials.
基金supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists(B)Project(Grant No.24700716)funded by the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology,Japan.
文摘Background:Combined knee valgus and tibial internal rotation(VL+IR)moments have been shown to stress the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)in several in vitro cadaveric studies.To utilize this knowledge for non-contact ACL injury prevention in sports,it is necessary to elucidate how the ground reaction force(GRF)acting point(center of pressure(CoP))in the stance foot produces combined knee VL+IR moments in risky maneuvers,such as cuttings.However,the effects of the GRF acting point on the development of the combined knee VL+IR moment in cutting are still unknown.Methods:We first established the deterministic mechanical condition that the CoP position relative to the tibial rotational axis differentiates the GRF vector’s directional probability for developing the combined knee VL+IR moment,and theoretically predicted that when the CoP is posterior to the tibial rotational axis,the GRF vector is more likely to produce the combined knee VL+IR moment than when the CoP is anterior to the tibial rotational axis.Then,we tested a stochastic aspect of our theory in a lab-controlled in vivo experiment.Fourteen females performed 60˚cutting under forefoot/rearfoot strike conditions(10 trials each).The positions of lower limb markers and GRF data were measured,and the knee moment due to GRF vector was calculated.The trials were divided into anterior-and posterior-CoP groups depending on the CoP position relative to the tibial rotational axis at each 10 ms interval from 0 to 100 ms after foot strike,and the occurrence rate of the combined knee VL+IR moment was compared between trial groups.Results:The posterior-CoP group showed significantly higher occurrence rates of the combined knee VL+IR moment(maximum of 82.8%)at every time point than those of the anterior-CoP trials,as theoretically predicted by the deterministic mechanical condition.Conclusion:The rearfoot strikes inducing the posterior CoP should be avoided to reduce the risk of non-contact ACL injury associated with the combined knee VL+IR stress.
基金This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42377164 and 52079062)the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China(Grant No.52222905).
文摘In the existing landslide susceptibility prediction(LSP)models,the influences of random errors in landslide conditioning factors on LSP are not considered,instead the original conditioning factors are directly taken as the model inputs,which brings uncertainties to LSP results.This study aims to reveal the influence rules of the different proportional random errors in conditioning factors on the LSP un-certainties,and further explore a method which can effectively reduce the random errors in conditioning factors.The original conditioning factors are firstly used to construct original factors-based LSP models,and then different random errors of 5%,10%,15% and 20%are added to these original factors for con-structing relevant errors-based LSP models.Secondly,low-pass filter-based LSP models are constructed by eliminating the random errors using low-pass filter method.Thirdly,the Ruijin County of China with 370 landslides and 16 conditioning factors are used as study case.Three typical machine learning models,i.e.multilayer perceptron(MLP),support vector machine(SVM)and random forest(RF),are selected as LSP models.Finally,the LSP uncertainties are discussed and results show that:(1)The low-pass filter can effectively reduce the random errors in conditioning factors to decrease the LSP uncertainties.(2)With the proportions of random errors increasing from 5%to 20%,the LSP uncertainty increases continuously.(3)The original factors-based models are feasible for LSP in the absence of more accurate conditioning factors.(4)The influence degrees of two uncertainty issues,machine learning models and different proportions of random errors,on the LSP modeling are large and basically the same.(5)The Shapley values effectively explain the internal mechanism of machine learning model predicting landslide sus-ceptibility.In conclusion,greater proportion of random errors in conditioning factors results in higher LSP uncertainty,and low-pass filter can effectively reduce these random errors.
文摘Conditioning regimens employed in autologous stem cell transplantation have been proven useful in various hematological disorders and underlying malignancies;however,despite being efficacious in various instances,negative consequences have also been recorded.Multiple conditioning regimens were extracted from various literature searches from databases like PubMed,Google scholar,EMBASE,and Cochrane.Conditioning regimens for each disease were compared by using various end points such as overall survival(OS),progression free survival(PFS),and leukemia free survival(LFS).Variables were presented on graphs and analyzed to conclude a more efficacious conditioning regimen.In multiple myeloma,the most effective regimen was high dose melphalan(MEL)given at a dose of 200/mg/m2.The comparative results of acute myeloid leukemia were presented and the regimens that proved to be at an admirable position were busulfan(BU)+MEL regarding OS and BU+VP16 regarding LFS.In case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL),BU,fludarabine,and etoposide(BuFluVP)conferred good disease control not only with a paramount improvement in survival rate but also low risk of recurrence.However,for ALL,chimeric antigen receptor(CAR)T cell therapy was preferred in the context of better OS and LFS.With respect to Hodgkin’s lymphoma,mitoxantrone(MITO)/MEL overtook carmustine,VP16,cytarabine,and MEL in view of PFS and vice versa regarding OS.Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients were administered MITO(60 mg/m2)and MEL(180 mg/m2)which showed promising results.Lastly,amyloidosis was considered,and the regimen that proved to be competent was MEL 200(200 mg/m2).This review article demonstrates a comparison between various conditioning regimens employed in different diseases.
基金supported by the Research Foundation of Technology Committee of Tongzhou District,No.KJ2019CX001(to SX).
文摘Human dental pulp stem cell transplantation has been shown to be an effective therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury.However,whether the human dental pulp stem cell secretome can contribute to functional recovery after spinal cord injury remains unclear.In the present study,we established a rat model of spinal cord injury based on impact injury from a dropped weight and then intraperitoneally injected the rats with conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells.We found that the conditioned medium effectively promoted the recovery of sensory and motor functions in rats with spinal cord injury,decreased expression of the microglial pyroptosis markers NLRP3,GSDMD,caspase-1,and interleukin-1β,promoted axonal and myelin regeneration,and inhibited the formation of glial scars.In addition,in a lipopolysaccharide-induced BV2 microglia model,conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells protected cells from pyroptosis by inhibiting the NLRP3/caspase-1/interleukin-1βpathway.These results indicate that conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells can reduce microglial pyroptosis by inhibiting the NLRP3/caspase-1/interleukin-1βpathway,thereby promoting the recovery of neurological function after spinal cord injury.Therefore,conditioned medium from human dental pulp stem cells may become an alternative therapy for spinal cord injury.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52109010)the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China(Grant No.2021M701047)the China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents(Grant No.BX20200113).
文摘Copula functions have been widely used in stochastic simulation and prediction of streamflow.However,existing models are usually limited to single two-dimensional or three-dimensional copulas with the same bivariate block for all months.To address this limitation,this study developed a mixed D-vine copula-based conditional quantile model that can capture temporal correlations.This model can generate streamflow by selecting different historical streamflow variables as the conditions for different months and by exploiting the conditional quantile functions of streamflows in different months with mixed D-vine copulas.The up-to-down sequential method,which couples the maximum weight approach with the Akaike information criteria and the maximum likelihood approach,was used to determine the structures of multivariate Dvine copulas.The developed model was used in a case study to synthesize the monthly streamflow at the Tangnaihai hydrological station,the inflow control station of the Longyangxia Reservoir in the Yellow River Basin.The results showed that the developed model outperformed the commonly used bivariate copula model in terms of the performance in simulating the seasonality and interannual variability of streamflow.This model provides useful information for water-related natural hazard risk assessment and integrated water resources management and utilization.
文摘Laminated composites are widely used in many engineering industries such as aircraft, spacecraft, boat hulls, racing car bodies, and storage tanks. We analyze the 3D deformations of a multilayered, linear elastic, anisotropic rectangular plate subjected to arbitrary boundary conditions on one edge and simply supported on other edge. The rectangular laminate consists of anisotropic and homogeneous laminae of arbitrary thicknesses. This study presents the elastic analysis of laminated composite plates subjected to sinusoidal mechanical loading under arbitrary boundary conditions. Least square finite element solutions for displacements and stresses are investigated using a mathematical model, called a state-space model, which allows us to simultaneously solve for these field variables in the composite structure’s domain and ensure that continuity conditions are satisfied at layer interfaces. The governing equations are derived from this model using a numerical technique called the least-squares finite element method (LSFEM). These LSFEMs seek to minimize the squares of the governing equations and the associated side conditions residuals over the computational domain. The model is comprised of layerwise variables such as displacements, out-of-plane stresses, and in- plane strains, treated as independent variables. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the response of the laminated composite plates under various arbitrary boundary conditions using LSFEM and compared with the 3D elasticity solution available in the literature.
文摘A photovoltaic (PV) string with multiple modules with bypass diodes frequently deployed on a variety of autonomous PV systems may present multiple power peaks under uneven shading. For optimal solar harvesting, there is a need for a control schema to force the PV string to operate at global maximum power point (GMPP). While a lot of tracking methods have been proposed in the literature, they are usually complex and do not fully take advantage of the available characteristics of the PV array. This work highlights how the voltage at operating point and the forward voltage of the bypass diode are considered to design a global maximum power point tracking (GMPPT) algorithm with a very limited global search phase called Fast GMPPT. This algorithm successfully tracks GMPP between 94% and 98% of the time under a theoretical evaluation. It is then compared against Perturb and Observe, Deterministic Particle Swarm Optimization, and Grey Wolf Optimization under a sequence of irradiance steps as well as a power-over-voltage characteristics profile that mimics the electrical characteristics of a PV string under varying partial shading conditions. Overall, the simulation with the sequence of irradiance steps shows that while Fast GMPPT does not have the best convergence time, it has an excellent convergence rate as well as causes the least amount of power loss during the global search phase. Experimental test under varying partial shading conditions shows that while the GMPPT proposal is simple and lightweight, it is very performant under a wide range of dynamically varying partial shading conditions and boasts the best energy efficiency (94.74%) out of the 4 tested algorithms.
文摘Background: Physical functional decline is common among elderly individuals with mental disorders, worsening their symptoms. Physiotherapy interventions have shown some evidence in improving physical function and mental health outcomes in this population. This study aimed to assess the impact of physiotherapy interventions on the elderly with mental health conditions at Chainama Hills College Hospital in Zambia. Methods: A pre-post single sample design was used to track patient progress over six weeks, with 10 physiotherapy sessions. The study population (N = 30) comprised of all elderly individuals with mental health conditions, encompassing both men and women, who were hospitalized during the research period. The Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living and the six-minute walk test were evaluated before and after the intervention. The IBM SPSS version 26 was used to analyze data and results were presented as mean ± SD with a 95% confidence interval. The variables were described in terms of their mean, SD, and range. A significance level of 0.05 was used for a paired T-test to detect changes and multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with mental health. Results: Following the intervention, the percentage of participants achieving full function and independence increased significantly to 96.7% from the initial 73.3%, supported by a 95% CI = [0.82 - 0.99]. There was also a notable decrease in the proportion of individuals experiencing moderate impairment, dropping from 26.7% to just 3.3%, with a corresponding 95% CI = [0.00 - 0.17]. Conclusion: The findings derived from this study illustrate an enhancement in the aspects of participants’ overall health and functional condition, including blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. Consequently, physiotherapy exercises can be employed as a tactic to ameliorate the functional status and physical well-being of older individuals afflicted with mental disorders in Zambia.