Equivalent air spring suspension model for quarter-passive model of passenger vehicles

This paper investigates the GENSIS air spring suspension system equivalence to a passive suspension system. The SIMULINK simulation together with the OptiY optimization is used to obtain the air spring suspension model equivalent to passive suspension system, where the car body response difference from both systems with the same road profile inputs is used as the objective function for optimization (OptiY program). The parameters of air spring system such as initial pressure, volume of bag, length of surge pipe, diameter of surge pipe, and volume of reservoir are obtained from optimization. The simulation results show that the air spring suspension equivalent system can produce responses very close to the passive suspension system

Photothermal Conversion Characteristics of Silver Nanoparticle Dispersions

This paper was presented at the 4th Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2014), which was held at University College, London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute, ASME Press, LCN London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL University College London, UCL Engineering, the International NanoScience Community, www.nanopaprika.eu.Nanoparticle-based direct absorption system is a recent development, which employs nanoparticles to absorb and convert solar energy directly into thermal energy within the fluid volume. This work reports for the first time the use of plasomic nanoparticles (PNPs) to improve the direct photo-thermal conversion efficiency. Rod-shaped silver nanoparticles are synthesized and used as an example to illustrate the photo-thermal conversion characteristics of PNPs and the effect of particle shape. The result reveals a significant role of particle morphology on the photo-thermal conversion efficiency (PTE). For spherical silver particles, constant specific absorption rate (SAR), ~0.14 kW/g, is observed and the PTE increases nearly linearly with the particle concentration. For rod-shaped silver nanoparticles, much higher SARs (2~5 kW/g) are obtained, and the PTE increases from 43% (pure DI water) to 61% at a low concentration of 0.0028%. It is suggested that the increased specific surface area and the absorption spectrum variation are the two main reasons for the strong heating effect of rod-shaped silver nanoparticles

Promoting positive development of migrant children in Hangzhou : pioneering experience and preliminary evaluation findings

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Differential hepatic features presenting in Wilson disease-associated cirrhosis and hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved. BACKGROUND Cirrhosis is a chronic late stage liver disease associated with hepatitis viruses, alcoholism, and metabolic disorders, such as Wilson disease (WD). There are no clear markers or clinical features that define cirrhosis originating from these disparate origins. We hypothesized that cirrhosis is not one disease and cirrhosis of different etiology may have differential clinical hepatic features. AIM To delineate the liver features between WD-associated cirrhosis and hepatitis Bassociated cirrhosis in the Chinese population. METHODS In this observational study, we reviewed the medical data of consecutive inpatients who had WD-associated cirrhosis or hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis from January 2010 to August 2018, and excluded patients who had carcinoma, severe heart or pulmonary diseases, or other liver diseases. According to the etiology of cirrhosis, patients were divided into two groups: WD-associated cirrhosis group (60 patients) and hepatitis B-associated cirrhosis group (56 patients). The liver fibrosis degree, liver function indices, and portal hypertension features of these patients were compared between the two groups. RESULTS No inter-group differences were observed in the diagnostic liver fibrosis markers, however, clinical features clearly defined the origin of cirrhosis. WD-associated cirrhosis patients (16-29 years) had lower levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and bilirubin, lower prothrombin time, lower incidence of hepatic encephalopathy, and lower portal vein diameter (P < 0.05), compared to cirrhosis resulting from hepatitis B in older patients (45-62 years). Importantly, they had decreased risks of progression from Child-Pugh grade A to B (odds ratio = 0.046, 95% confidence interval: 0.006-0.387, P = 0.005) and of ascites (odds ratio = 0.08, 95% confidence interval: 0.01-0.48, P = 0.005). Conversely, WDassociated cirrhosis patients had a higher risk of splenomegaly (odds ratio = 4.15, 95% confidence interval: 1.38-12.45, P = 0.011). CONCLUSION WD-associated cirrhosis presents a higher risk of splenomegaly associated with leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, although revealing milder liver dysfunction and portal hypertension symptoms, which recommends WD patients to be monitored for associated complications

JAK2V617F mediates resistance to DNA damage-induced apoptosis by modulating FOXO3A localization and Bcl-xL deamidation.

The JAK2V617F mutation is found in most patients with a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). This gain-of-function mutation dysregulates cytokine signaling and is associated with increased accumulation of DNA damage, a process likely to drive disease evolution. JAK2V617F inhibits NHE-1 upregulation in response to DNA damage and consequently represses Bcl-xL deamidation and apoptosis, thus giving rise to inappropriate cell survival. However, the mechanism whereby NHE-1 expression is inhibited by JAK2V617F is unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells expressing JAK2V617F compromises the NHE-1/Bcl-xL deamidation pathway by repressing NHE-1 upregulation in response to DNA damage. In JAK2V617F-positive cells, increased ROS levels results from aberrant PI3K signaling, which decreases nuclear localization of FOXO3A and decreases catalase expression. Furthermore, when compared with autologous control erythroblasts, clonally derived JAK2V617F-positive erythroblasts from MPN patients displayed increased ROS levels and reduced nuclear FOXO3A. However, in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), FOXO3A is largely localized within the nuclei despite the presence of JAK2V617F mutation, suggesting that JAK2-FOXO signaling has a different effect on progenitors compared with stem cells. Inactivation of FOXO proteins and elevation of intracellular ROS are characteristics common to many cancers, and hence these findings are likely to be of relevance beyond the MPN field.Work in the Green lab is supported by Leukemia and Lymphoma Research, Cancer Research UK, the Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund, the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the Cambridge Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America. DGK was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Ottawa, ON), and a Lady Tata Memorial Trust International Award for Research in Leukaemia (London, UK). HJP was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/onc2015285a.html

Does prohibitin expression regulate sperm mitochondrial membrane potential, sperm motility, and male fertility?

Prohibitin (PHB) is a highly conserved major sperm mitochondrial membrane protein whose absence in somatic cells is associated with mitochondrial membrane depolarization and increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Our recent findings suggest that high levels of oxidants in human semen may contribute to male infertility and that sperm motility could be the earliest and most sensitive indicator of oxidative damage. Based on PHB's roles in mitochondrial sub-compartmentalization and respiratory chain assembly, we examine sperm PHB expression and mitochondrial membrane potential (MITO) in infertile men with poor sperm motility (asthenospermia, A) and/or low sperm concentrations (oligoasthenospermia, OA). Here, we demonstrate that MITO is significantly lower in sperm from A and OA subjects than in normospermic (N) subjects; the decrease is more severe for OA than for A subjects. PHB expression is also significantly lower in sperm from A and OA subjects. Significantly positive correlations are found among PHB expression, MITO, and sperm motility in normospermic, asthenospermic, and oligoasthenospermic subjects. Collectively, our observations lead to the hypothesis that PHB expression is an indicator of sperm quality in infertile men, and that it regulates sperm motility via an alteration in MITO and increased ROS levels. © Copyright 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.published_or_final_versio

Novel SNPs polymorphism of bovine CACNA2D1 gene and their association with somatic cell score

Mastitis is a major cause of economic loss in dairy cattle. In this study, the bovine CACNA2D1 gene was taken as a candidate gene for mastitis resistance. The objective of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the bovine CACNA2D1 gene and evaluate the association of these SNPs with mastitis in cattle. Through DNA sequencing and PCR-RFLP analysis, three mutations C367400T, A496561G and G519663A were detected in the cattle CACNA2D1 gene. Altogether 240 dairy cattle of three breeds (Holstein, Simmental, and Sanhe cattle) were genotyped and allele frequencies were determined. The effects of CACNA2D1 polymorphisms on somatic cell score (SCS) were analyzed and a significant association was found between G519663A and SCS. The mean of genotype GG was significantly lower than those of genotypes AG and AA. The results of this research will be useful in further studies to determine the role of the CACNA2D1 gene in mastitis resistance and further work will be necessary to investigate whether the CACNA2D1 gene play a role in defending the host from mastitis.Key words: Association analysis, CACNA2D1 gene, dairy breeds, mastitis, somatic cell score

Plant Homeo Domain Finger Protein 8 Regulates Mesodermal and Cardiac Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells Through Mediating the Histone Demethylation of pmaip1

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