Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Product Ameliorates Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia Induced Renal Injury, Inflammation, and Apoptosis via P38/JNK Signaling Pathways

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) associated chronic kidney disease is mainly caused by chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) triggered tissue damage. Receptor for advanced glycation end product (RAGE) and its ligand high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) are expressed on renal cells and mediate inflammatory responses in OSA-related diseases. To determine their roles in CIH-induced renal injury, soluble RAGE (sRAGE), the RAGE neutralizing antibody, was intravenously administered in a CIH model. We also evaluated the effect of sRAGE on inflammation and apoptosis. Rats were divided into four groups: (1) normal air (NA), (2) CIH, (3) CIH+sRAGE, and (4) NA+sRAGE. Our results showed that CIH accelerated renal histological injury and upregulated RAGE-HMGB1 levels involving inflammatory (NF-κB, TNF-α, and IL-6), apoptotic (Bcl-2/Bax), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (phosphorylation of P38, ERK, and JNK) signal transduction pathways, which were abolished by sRAGE but p-ERK. Furthermore, sRAGE ameliorated renal dysfunction by attenuating tubular endothelial apoptosis determined by immunofluorescence staining of CD31 and TUNEL. These findings suggested that RAGE-HMGB1 activated chronic inflammatory transduction cascades that contributed to the pathogenesis of the CIH-induced renal injury. Inhibition of RAGE ligand interaction by sRAGE provided a therapeutic potential for CIH-induced renal injury, inflammation, and apoptosis through P38 and JNK pathways

Raspberry Pi : education tool for teaching photography II

Traditionally, photography lessons are carried out in an outdoor setting. Due to the lack of means to provide a large screen, which can be viewed by all, participants will have to gather around the trainer to listen to his/ her explanation and jot down valuable pointers. However, with rapid technological advancements, portable devices are capable of connecting among each other seamlessly. Since mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones are easily accessible, learning photography can be leveraged by taking advantage of mobile technologies. The purpose of this Final Year Project is to develop an educational tool based on a previously built application; a remote camera control system that allows user to control a digital camera remotely, via a Raspberry Pi using a mobile device. This educational tool revolutionizes the way photography is being taught. The application enables instructor to share images captured wirelessly, with participants of the course. A transparent overlay was created on top of the image to allow instructor to annotate on it, either by mouse-drawing or touch-based drawing. Annotation will then be pushed to students’ devices in real-time manner. The application can also generate histograms during live view mode, and after image has been captured. The histogram of image captured will appear on students’ devices. HTML5 canvas element was implemented to achieve annotating purpose. Comet with long polling technique has been applied to realize real-time push notifications on students’ devices. Generating histogram was handled by JavaScript library and jQuery library. At the end of the project, the education tool was integrated into the previous application. The overall requirements were met and objectives were fulfilled.Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering

Medium-term heat load prediction for an existing residential building based on a wireless on-off control system

For district heating systems, prediction of the heat load is a very important topic for energy storage and optimized operation. For large and complex heating systems, most prediction models in previous publications only considered the influence of outdoor temperature, whereas the indoor temperature and thermal inertia of buildings were not included. For an energy-efficient residential building in Shijiazhuang (China), the heat load prediction is investigated using various prediction models, including a wavelet neural network (WNN), extreme learning machine (ELM), support vector machine (SVM) and back propagation neural network optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA-BP). In these models, the indoor temperature and historical loads are considered as influencing factors. It is found that the prediction accuracies of the ELM and GA-BP are slightly higher than that of WNN, so the ELM and GA-BP models provide feasible methods for the heat load prediction. The SVM shows smaller relative errors in the model prediction compared with three neural network algorithms

Analysis of a hybrid control scheme in the district heating system with distributed variable speed pumps

Compared with conventional central circulating pumps (CCCPs)in the district heating system (DHS), the DHS with distributed variable speed pumps (DVSPs)shows a great potential for energy saving. In this paper, a hybrid control scheme both using electric control valves (ECVs)and DVSPs is applied to the district heating system in Shenyang, China. This new hybrid control system results in reduction of the boiler outlet pressure from 1.27 MPa to 0.81 MPa, which ensures safe operation of the heating network. In addition, the hydraulic imbalance of the primary pipelines is effectively reduced by using the DVSPs. It is found that the relative error between the designed and the measured total flow rates is 7.71%. Results show that the annual average value of electricity consumption by using the DVSPs is 28.52% smaller than that in the CCCP system. Therefore, there is a great potential for building energy saving if the DVSPs are installed into the DHS. In order to evaluate the heating quantity and guide the optimal operation for the DHS, indoor temperature acquisition devices will be installed in the near future

Exendin-4 Promotes Beta Cell Proliferation via PI3k/Akt Signalling Pathway

Background/Aims: Prevention of diabetes requires maintenance of a functional beta-cell mass, the postnatal growth of which depends on beta cell proliferation. Past studies have shown evidence of an effect of an incretin analogue, Exendin-4, in promoting beta cell proliferation, whereas the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. Methods: Here we studied the effects of Exendin-4 on beta cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo through analysing BrdU-incorporated beta cells. We also analysed the effects of Exendin-4 on beta cell mass in vivo, and on beta cell number in vitro. Then, we applied specific inhibitors of different signalling pathways and analysed their effects on Exendin-4-induced beta cell proliferation. Results: Exendin-4 increased beta cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, resulting in significant increases in beta cell mass and beta cell number, respectively. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt signalling, but not inhibition of either ERK/MAPK pathway, or JNK pathway, significantly abolished the effects of Exendin-4 in promoting beta cell proliferation. Conclusion: Exendin-4 promotes beta cell proliferation via PI3k/Akt signaling pathway

Long-Term Prognosis of Different Subtypes of Left Ventricular Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy Patients: A Retrospective Study in China

Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a heterogeneous cardiomyopathy that can be classified into different subtypes based on morphologic and functional features. However, the prognosis of the dilated and isolated subtypes of non-pediatric LVNC remains unknown. We retrospectively studied 101 patients with LVNC diagnosed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2006 to 2022 using the Jenni criteria of transthoracic echocardiography. The patients were grouped into those with dilated LVNC (n = 64) or isolated LVNC (n = 37), and 88 patients (54 with dilated LVNC and 34 with isolated LVNC) were followed up successfully. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (a composite of cardiovascular mortality, heart failure, severe ventricular arrhythmia, and systolic embolism). The median follow-up time was 5.24 years. The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events was 43.2%; patients with dilated LVNC had a higher risk (adjusted hazard ratio, 4.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.24–15.81; p = 0.02) than those with isolated LVNC. None of the isolated LVNC patients had cardiovascular deaths or severe ventricular arrhythmias. The risk of systemic embolism was similar between patients with dilated and isolated LVNC. Our findings indicate that transthoracic echocardiography is a useful tool for classifying LVNC into subtypes with distinct clinical outcomes. Dilated LVNC is associated with a poor prognosis, while the isolated subtype is probably a physiological condition

Restoration processes of pollution zones in Hanjiang River

Two pollution zones in middle and lower reaches of Hanjiang River were selected for studying restoration processes. In each zones 6 stations were set up in upper stream of sewage outfall, 50m, 100 or 150m, 250 or 525m and 1250 or 3500m apart from the outfall. Chemical monitoring and microbial community biomonitoring were carried out simultaneously. Either the chemical monitoring or the biological monitoring proved the self-purification process of water body along with the increased distance from the sewage outfall. 4 biological parameters (species number of protozoa, percentage of phytomatigophora, diversity index and heterotrophy index) and parameter Seq of the colonization process all have statistically significant correlations with chemical comprehensive pollution indexes Pa and Pb

Structural Electromagnetic Absorber Based on MoS2/PyC‐Al2O3 Ceramic Metamaterials

Limited by the types of suitable absorbents as well as the challenges in engineering the nanostructures (e.g., defects, dipoles, and hetero-interface) using state-of-the-art additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, the electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption performance of the current ceramic-based materials is still not satisfying. Moreover, because of the high residual porosity and the possible formation of cracks during sintering or pyrolysis, AM-formed ceramic components may in many cases exhibit low mechanical strength. In this work, semiconductive MoS2 and conductive PyC modified Al2O3 (MoS2/PyC-Al2O3) ceramic-based structural EM metamaterials are developed by innovatively harnessing AM, precursor infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP), and hydrothermal methods. Three different meta-structures are successfully created, and the ceramic-based nanocomposite benefit from its optimization of EM parameters. Ultra-broad effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 35 GHz is achieved by establishment of multi-loss mechanism via nanostructure engineering and fabrication of meta-structures via AM. Due to the strengthening by the PyC phase, the bending strength of the resulting ceramics can reach approximate to 327 MPa, which is the highest value measured on 3D-printed ceramics of this type that has been reported so far. For the first time, the positive effect deriving from the engineering of the microscopic nano/microstructure and of the macroscopic meta-structure of the absorber on the permittivity and EM absorption performance is proposed. Integration of outstanding mechanical strength and ultra-broad EAB is innovatively realized through a multi-scale design route. This work provides new insights for the design of advanced ceramic-based metamaterials with outstanding performance under extreme environment