An Innovative Coupled Common-Node Discrete Element Method-Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Model Developed with LS-DYNA and Its Applications

In this study,a common-node DEM-SPH coupling model based on the shared node method is proposed,and a fluid–structure coupling method using the common-node discrete element method-smoothed particle hydrodynamics(DS-SPH)method is developed using LS-DYNA software.The DEM and SPH are established on the same node to create common-node DEM-SPH particles,allowing for fluid–structure interactions.Numerical simulations of various scenarios,including water entry of a rigid sphere,dam-break propagation over wet beds,impact on an ice plate floating on water and ice accumulation on offshore structures,are conducted.The interaction between DS particles and SPH fluid and the crack generation mechanism and expansion characteristics of the ice plate under the interaction of structure and fluid are also studied.The results are compared with available data to verify the proposed coupling method.Notably,the simulation results demonstrated that controlling the cutoff pressure of internal SPH particles could effectively control particle splashing during ice crushing failure.

A modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics method considering residual stress for simulating failure and its application in layered rock mass

Residual strength is an indispensable factor in evaluating rock fracture,yet the current Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics(SPH)framework rarely considers its influence when simulating fracture.An improved cracking strategy considering residual stress in the base bond SPH method was proposed to simulate failures in layered rocks and slopes and verified by experimental results and other simulation methods(i.e.,the discrete element method).Modified Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion was applied to distinguish the mixed failure of tensile and shear.Bond fracture markψwas introduced to improve the kernel function after tensile damage,and the calculation of residual stress after the damage was derived after shear damage.Numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate its performance under different stress and scale conditions and to verify its effectiveness in realistically reproducing crack initiation and propagation and coalescence,even fracture and separation.The results indicate that the improved cracking strategy precisely captures the fracture and failure pattern in layered rocks and rock slopes.The residual stress of brittle tock is correctly captured by the improved SPH method.The improved SPH method that considers residual strength shows an approximately 13%improvement in accuracy for the safety factor of anti-dip layered slopes compared to the method that does not consider residual strength,as validated against analytical solutions.We infer that the improved SPH method is effective and shows promise for applications to continuous and discontinuous rock masses.

A Dual Domain Robust Reversible Watermarking Algorithm for Frame Grouping Videos Using Scene Smoothness

The proposed robust reversible watermarking algorithm addresses the compatibility challenges between robustness and reversibility in existing video watermarking techniques by leveraging scene smoothness for frame grouping videos.Grounded in the H.264 video coding standard,the algorithm first employs traditional robust watermark stitching technology to embed watermark information in the low-frequency coefficient domain of the U channel.Subsequently,it utilizes histogram migration techniques in the high-frequency coefficient domain of the U channel to embed auxiliary information,enabling successful watermark extraction and lossless recovery of the original video content.Experimental results demonstrate the algorithm’s strong imperceptibility,with each embedded frame in the experimental videos achieving a mean peak signal-to-noise ratio of 49.3830 dB and a mean structural similarity of 0.9996.Compared with the three comparison algorithms,the performance of the two experimental indexes is improved by 7.59%and 0.4%on average.At the same time,the proposed algorithm has strong robustness to both offline and online attacks:In the face of offline attacks,the average normalized correlation coefficient between the extracted watermark and the original watermark is 0.9989,and the average bit error rate is 0.0089.In the face of online attacks,the normalized correlation coefficient between the extracted watermark and the original watermark is 0.8840,and the mean bit error rate is 0.2269.Compared with the three comparison algorithms,the performance of the two experimental indexes is improved by 1.27%and 18.16%on average,highlighting the algorithm’s robustness.Furthermore,the algorithm exhibits low computational complexity,with the mean encoding and the mean decoding time differentials during experimental video processing being 3.934 and 2.273 s,respectively,underscoring its practical utility.

Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics Simulation of Ship Motion and Tank Sloshing under the Effect of Regular Waves

Predicting the response of liquefied natural gas(LNG)contained in vessels subjected to external waves is extremely important to ensure the safety of the transportation process.In this study,the coupled behavior due to ship motion and liquid tank sloshing has been simulated by the Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics(SPH)method.Firstly,the sloshing flow in a rectangular tank was simulated and the related loads were analyzed to verify and validate the accuracy of the present SPH solver.Then,a three-dimensional simplified LNG carrier model,including two prismatic liquid tanks and a wave tank,was introduced.Different conditions were examined corresponding to different wave lengths,wave heights,wave heading angles,and tank loading rates.Finally,the effects of liquid tank loading rate on LNG ship motions and sloshing loading were analyzed,thereby showing that the SPH method can effectively provide useful indications for the design of liquid cargo ships.

Influence of Angiotensin II on α1-Adrenergic Receptors Function in Rat Aorta and Expression in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is the main mediator of the Renin-Angiotensin-System acting on AT1 and other AT receptors. It is regarded as a pleiotropic agent that induces many actions, including functioning as a growth factor, and as a contractile hormone, among others. The aim of this work was to examine the impact of Ang II on the expression and function of α1-adrenergic receptors (α1-ARs) in cultured rat aorta, and aorta-derived smooth muscle cells. Isolated Wistar rat aorta was incubated for 24 h in DMEM at 37˚C, then subjected to isometric tension and to the action of added norepinephrine, in concentration-response curves. Ang II was added (1 × 10−5 M), and in some experiments, 5-Methylurapidil (α1A-AR antagonist), AH11110A (α1B-AR antagonist), or BMY-7378 (α1D-AR antagonist), were used to identify the α1-AR involved in the response. Desensitization of the contractile response to norepinephrine was observed due to incubation time, and by the Ang II action. α1D-AR was protected from desensitization by BMY-7378;while RS-100329 and prazosin partially mitigated desensitization. In another set of experiments, isolated aorta-derived smooth muscle cells were exposed to Ang II and α1-ARs proteins were evaluated. α1D-AR increased at 30 and 60 min post Ang II exposure, the α1A-AR diminished from 1 to 4 h, while α1B-AR remained unchanged over 24 h of Ang II exposure. Ang II induced an increase of α1D-AR at short times, and BMY-7378 protected α1D-AR from desensitization.

Intersecting Line of Conical Surface and Smoothly Blending of Two Tubes Whose Axes Are Non-Coplanar

We construct two conical surfaces which take non-coplanar lines as generatrix and rational Bezier curve as ridge-line, and prove that the intersecting line of conical surface has similar properties to Bezier curve. Then, the smoothly blending of two cylinders whose axes are non-coplanar is realized by taking intersecting line of conical surface as axes.

Process Facilities of 50 kt/a TDI Unit at North Jinghua PU Company Run Smoothly

The facilities of 50 kl/a TDI unit at the North Jinghua Polyurethane Company in Liaoning province have been operating smoothly and safely for 158 h to deliver 500 tons of first-grade TDI products.The construction of this project has incarnated that the North Jinghua Polyurethane Company has completely mastered the TDI production technique.

MicroRNA-146a Promotes Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation towards Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells through Regulation of Kruppel-like Factor 4

Objective Vascular smooth muscle cell(VSMC)differentiation from stem cells is one source of the increasing number of VSMCs that are involved in vascular remodeling-related diseases such as hypertension,atherosclerosis,and restenosis.MicroRNA-146a(miR-146a)has been proven to be involved in cell proliferation,migration,and tumor metabolism.However,little is known about the functional role of miR-146a in VSMC differentiation from embryonic stem cells(ESCs).This study aimed to determine the role of miR-146a in VSMC differentiation from ESCs.Methods Mouse ESCs were differentiated into VSMCs,and the cell extracts were analyzed by Western blotting and RT-qPCR.In addition,luciferase reporter assays using ESCs transfected with miR-146a/mimic and plasmids were performed.Finally,C57BL/6J female mice were injected with mimic or miR-146a-overexpressing ESCs,and immunohistochemistry,Western blotting,and RT-qPCR assays were carried out on tissue samples from these mice.Results miR-146a was significantly upregulated during VSMC differentiation,accompanied with the VSMC-specific marker genes smooth muscle-alpha-actin(SMαA),smooth muscle 22(SM22),smooth muscle myosin heavy chain(SMMHC),and h1-calponin.Furthermore,overexpression of miR-146a enhanced the differentiation process in vitro and in vivo.Concurrently,the expression of Kruppel-like factor 4(KLF4),predicted as one of the top targets of miR-146a,was sharply decreased in miR-146a-overexpressing ESCs.Importantly,inhibiting KLF4 expression enhanced the VSMC-specific gene expression induced by miR-146a overexpression in differentiating ESCs.In addition,miR-146a upregulated the mRNA expression levels and transcriptional activity of VSMC differentiation-related transcription factors,including serum response factor(SRF)and myocyte enhancer factor 2c(MEF-2c).Conclusion Our data support that miR-146a promotes ESC-VSMC differentiation through regulating KLF4 and modulating the transcription factor activity of VSMCs.

CES Flights Smoothly Moving Eastward

At 8:30 on October 27, the first international flight from Shanghai to Singapore MU576 took off at Pudong Airport. Thus,all international flights and those to Hong Kong and Macao were all moved to Pudong Airport. Besides internationalflights and Hong Kong and Macao flights, the eastward moving also cover some domestic flights, namely flights fromSanya, Haikou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Weifang and so on in Northwest China, Mid-South China,and East China to Shanghai. After the eastward moving, the flight distribution at two airports in Shanghai changed greatly.

CNNC proceeds smoothly with its nuclear projects

In 2009, the nuclear power plants under China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) continuously kept reliable operation. CNNC's seven nuclear power units accumulatively generated 38.25

THE ANALYTIC SMOOTHING EFFECT OF LINEAR LANDAU EQUATION WITH SOFT POTENTIALS

In this work,we study the linearized Landau equation with soft potentials and show that the smooth solution to the Cauchy problem with initial datum in L^(2)(ℝ^(3))enjoys an analytic regularization effect,and that the evolution of the analytic radius is the same as the heat equations.

Application of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics(SPH)for the Simulation of Flow-Like Landslides on 3D Terrains

Flow-type landslide is one type of landslide that generally exhibits characteristics of high flow velocities,long jump distances,and poor predictability.Simulation of its propagation process can provide solutions for risk assessment and mitigation design.The smoothed particle hydrodynamics(SPH)method has been successfully applied to the simulation of two-dimensional(2D)and three-dimensional(3D)flow-like landslides.However,the influence of boundary resistance on the whole process of landslide failure is rarely discussed.In this study,a boundary condition considering friction is proposed and integrated into the SPH method,and its accuracy is verified.Moreover,the Navier-Stokes equation combined with the non-Newtonian fluid rheologymodel was utilized to solve the dynamic behavior of the flow-like landslide.To verify its performance,the Shuicheng landslide event,which occurred in Guizhou,China,was taken as a case study.In the 2D simulation,a sensitivity analysis was conducted,and the results showed that the shearing strength parameters have more influence on the computation accuracy than the coefficient of viscosity.Afterwards,the dynamic characteristics of the landslide,such as the velocity and the impact area,were analyzed in the 3D simulation.The simulation results are in good agreement with the field investigations.The simulation results demonstrate that the SPH method performs well in reproducing the landslide process,and facilitates the analysis of landslide characteristics as well as the affected areas,which provides a scientific basis for conducting the risk assessment and disaster mitigation design.

A Discussion on the Establishment That a Fibre Metric on the Positive Definite Real Inner-Product of a Properly Embedded Smooth Submanifold Be Always Extended to a Riemannian Metric on the Positive Definite Real Inner-Product

Let M be a smooth manifold and S ⊆ M a properly embedded smooth submanifold. Suppose that we have a fibre metric on TM|s i.e. a positive definite real inner-product on TpM for all p ∈ S, which depends smoothly on p ∈ S. The purpose of this article is to figure out that the fibre metric on TM|s can always be extended to a Riemannian metric on TM from a special perspective.

Three-River Project Proceeds Smoothly

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Value of enhanced computed tomography in differentiating small mesenchymal tumours of the gastrointestinal from smooth muscle tumours

BACKGROUND Computed tomography(CT)technology has been gradually used in the differen-tiation of small mesenchymal tumors of the stomach and intestines from smooth muscle tumours.AIM To explore the value of enhanced CT in the differentiation of small mesenchymal tumors of the stomach and intestines from smooth muscle tumours.METHODS Clinical data of patients with gastric mesenchymal or gastric smooth muscle tu-mours who were treated in our hospital from May 2018 to April 2023 were retrospectively analysed.Patients were divided into the gastric mesenchymal tumor group and the gastric smooth muscle tumor group respectively(n=50 cases per group).Clinical data of 50 healthy volunteers who received physical examinations in our hospital during the same period were selected and included in the control group.Serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA19-9),CA-125 and cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 were compared among the three groups.The value of CEA and CA19-9 in the identification of gastric mesenchymal tumours was analysed using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.The Kappa statistic was used to analyse the consistency of the combined CEA and CA19-9 test in identi-fying gastric mesenchymal tumours.RESULTS CEA levels varied among the three groups in the following order:The gastric mesenchymal tumour group>the control group>the gastric smooth muscle tumour group.CA19-9 levels varied among the three groups in the following order:The gastric mesenchymal group>the gastric smooth muscle group>the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve of CEA and CA19-9 was 0.879 and 0.782,respectively.CONCLUSION Enhanced CT has shown value in differentiating small mesenchymal tumors of the stomach and intestines from smooth muscle tumors.

Semaphorin 7A promotes human vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration through theβ-catenin signaling pathway

Background:Vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs)undergo a conversion from a contractile phenotype to a proliferative synthetic phenotype,contributing to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases.Semaphorin 7A(SEMA7A)is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane protein that plays an important role in vascular homeostasis by regulating endothelial cell behaviors.However,the expression and role of SEMA7A in VSMCs remain unclear.Methods:In this study,we screened for VSMC-regulating genes in publicly available datasets and analyzed the expression of SEMA7A in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells(hCASMCs)treated with platelet-derived growth factor-BB(PDGF-BB).The effects of SEMA7A overexpression and knockdown on hCASMC proliferation and migration were examined.The signaling pathways involved in the action of SEMA7A in hCASMCs were determined.Results:Bioinformatic analysis showed that SEMA7A was significantly dysregulated in VSMCs treated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein or overexpressing progerin,a pro-atherogenic gene.The PDGF-BB stimulation led to a concentration-and time-dependent induction of SEMA7A.Depletion of SEMA7A attenuated PDGF-BB-induced hCASMC proliferation and migration.Conversely,overexpression of SEMA7A enhanced hCASMC proliferation and migration.Mechanistically,SEMA7A stimulated the activation of theβ-catenin pathway and upregulated c-Myc,CCND1,and MMP7.Knockdown ofβ-catenin impaired SEMA7A-induced hCASMC proliferation and migration.Conclusions:SEMA7A triggers phenotype switching in VSMCs through theβ-catenin signaling pathway and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases.

Lateral interaction by Laplacian‐based graph smoothing for deep neural networks

Lateral interaction in the biological brain is a key mechanism that underlies higher cognitive functions.Linear self‐organising map(SOM)introduces lateral interaction in a general form in which signals of any modality can be used.Some approaches directly incorporate SOM learning rules into neural networks,but incur complex operations and poor extendibility.The efficient way to implement lateral interaction in deep neural networks is not well established.The use of Laplacian Matrix‐based Smoothing(LS)regularisation is proposed for implementing lateral interaction in a concise form.The authors’derivation and experiments show that lateral interaction implemented by SOM model is a special case of LS‐regulated k‐means,and they both show the topology‐preserving capability.The authors also verify that LS‐regularisation can be used in conjunction with the end‐to‐end training paradigm in deep auto‐encoders.Additionally,the benefits of LS‐regularisation in relaxing the requirement of parameter initialisation in various models and improving the classification performance of prototype classifiers are evaluated.Furthermore,the topologically ordered structure introduced by LS‐regularisation in feature extractor can improve the generalisation performance on classification tasks.Overall,LS‐regularisation is an effective and efficient way to implement lateral interaction and can be easily extended to different models.