Analysis of the influence of side wall opening on the arch structure of metro station using the PBA method

In order to meet the traffic and commercial needs, it is sometimes necessary to open the side wall of the metro station, while the current research on the mechanical properties and safety of the arch caused by the opening of the side wall of the station by pile-beam-arch (PBA) method is rarely involved. In this paper, based on the Tianhe East Station project of Guangzhou Metro Line 11 located in soft-hard uneven stratum using PBA method, the settlement law and mechanical characteristics of the arch under different side wall opening conditions is analyzed, and the influence of opening construction and opening span on the safety of arch is also further studied. The results show that the settlement caused by the opening of the side wall is mainly concentrated in the upper part of the opening area, and gradually expands around the opening area with the increase of opening span, and the maximum settlement occurs in the middle part of the arch. Opening leads to the differential settlement at both ends of the arch. With the increase in opening span, the settlement growth trend of the right side of the arch is greater than that of the left side. The opening of the side wall leads to the increase of the safety factor of the arch body and the decrease of the safety factor of the right arch foot, while the change of the safety factor of the left arch foot is not obvious, and the safety factor meets the specification requirements

Effects of various land utilization types on groundwater at different temporal scales: a case study of Huocheng plain, Xinjiang, China

Different land utilization types have unignorable impacts on adjacent aquifers, so studying the effects of varying land utilization types on groundwater balance and groundwater table in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial to facilitate the rational development of territorial space and groundwater resource management. This study investigated the relationship between land utilization type variations and groundwater dynamics from spatial and temporal scales in Huocheng plain, Xinjiang, China, via taking advantage of different land utilization maps provided by remote sensing techniques in 1990, 2000, and 2015. Based on the analysis of results, the findings can be summarized as follows. First, the cultivated and construction land has expanded significantly in the past 25 years. The migration of the regional center of cultivated land was insignificant, as it is still located almost in the center of the entire study area. However, the transfer span of the location center of construction land was more prominent, and its moving direction was mainly from south to northeast, directly affecting the groundwater balance state and groundwater table. Second, the total amount of groundwater storage exhibited a remarkable reduction, from a recharge in 1990 to a continuous discharge in 2000–2015, during which the total recharge and discharge had both continuously declined. Meanwhile, recharging and discharging elements were also changed profoundly as less groundwater recharges from ambient aqueous environments and more groundwater extraction. Thus, human activities were the fundamental driving terms causing the changes in groundwater sources. Third, the groundwater table gradually and continuously dropped from south to northeast in the study area over time. The drawdown of spatially averaged groundwater tables was positively correlated with construction and cultivated area extension. In addition, compared to the former literature, this study offers an alternative approach for groundwater protection and optimization of territorial space development and utilization in arid and semi-arid areas

Epac1 is involved in cell cycle progression in lung cancer through PKC and Cx43 regulation

Introduction. The exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac1), a downstream target of the second messenger cAMP, modulates multiple biological effects of cAMP, alone or in cooperation with protein kinase A (PKC). Epac1 is necessary for promoting protein kinase C (PKC) translocation and activation. The aim of the study was to assess the intensity of Epac1 and protein kinase C (PKC) immunoreactivity in lung cancer and para-carcinoma tissues, and their associations with clinical-pathological indexes. Correlations between the immunoreactivity of Epac1, PKC, A-kinase anchor protein 95 (AKAP95) and connexin43 (Cx43) were also examined. Material and methods. Epac1, Cx43 (46 cases) and PKC, AKAP95 (45 cases) immunoexpression levels were determined in tissue samples of lung cancer and in 12 samples of neighboring para-carcinoma specimens by the PV-9000 Two-step immunohistochemical technique. Results. The percentage of Epac1 positive samples was significantly lower in lung cancer tissue than in neighboring para-carcinoma specimens (37% vs. 83.3%, p < 0.05); the difference in PKC immunoreactivity was not significant (64.4% vs. 91.7%). Epac1 expression was associated with the degree of malignancy and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05), but not with histological type (P > 0.05), whereas PKC expression was not related to these parameters. Interestingly, Epac1 expression was correlated with PKC and Cx43 expression. Moreover, PKC expression was correlated with AKAP95 expression. Conclusion. Normal Epac1 expression may suppress lung cancer occurrence and metastasis, and its downregulation is involved in cell cycle progression in lung cancer through PKC and Cx43 regulation.

Structure and band gap engineering of Fe-doped SrSnO

$\text{Sr}(\text{Sn}_{1-x}\text{Fe}_{x})\text{O}_{3}\ ( 0\le x \le 1)$ (SSFO) films were epitaxially grown on MgO substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microcopy, and optical spectra investigations reveal that the lattice and band structure properties of the SSFO films can be modified significantly by varying the Fe content. With Fe content increasing from 0 to 1 in films, the lattice parameters decrease from 4.0425 to 3.8604 Å gradually, and the optical band gaps Eg decrease from 4.23 to 2.63 eV linearly. The Fe-induced large tuning in band gap was explained by the systematic width increase of the Fe-derived 3d band lying nearly above the O-derived 2p valence band

Controlled Synthesis of Hierarchical Nanostructured Metal Ferrite Microspheres for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Ferrite MFe2O4 (M = Ni, Co, etc.) metal oxides have been the focus of intense research, studied as promising electrocatalysts due to their good catalytic activity and stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Structure engineering is a significant solution to achieve a high catalytic performance; further, optimizing the structure and specific surface area (SSA) of metal ferrite (CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4) is regarded as a good choice. Herein, we designed hierarchical porous nanostructured CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 microspheres with the assistance of sodium dodecyl sulfonate by solvothermal and annealing methods. We found that three-dimensional microspheres assembled by nanoparticles and porous nanosheets exhibit higher SSAs for NiFe2O4 (158.47 m2 g–1) and CoFe2O4 (144.52 m2 g–1). Their higher SSA is much higher than those of other CoFe2O4-based and NiFe2O4-based materials. The as-prepared metal ferrite microspheres exhibit excellent OER electrocatalytic activity with lower Tafel slopes (55.2 and 58.2 mV dec–1) and lower overpotentials (235 and 280 mV) at a constant current density of 10 mA cm–2 and long-term stability, which is better than that of NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 bulks. This method for preparing a large SSA is expected to be applied in other spinel metal oxides

Enhancing interface stability and ionic conductivity in the designed Na3SbP0.4xS4−xOx sulfide solid electrolyte through bridging oxygen

International audienceThe all-solid-state sodium battery has emerged as a promising candidate for energy storage. However, the limited electrochemical stability of the solid electrolyte, particularly in the presence of Na metal at the anode, along with low ionic conductivity, hinders its widespread application. In this work, the design of P and O elements in Na3SbS4 solid electrolyte was investigated through a series of structural tests and characterizations. The electrochemical stability was remarkably improved in the Na/Na3SbP0.16S3.6O0.4/Na battery, exhibiting a stability of 260 h under a current of 0.1 mA cm−2. Additionally, the room temperature conductivity of Na3SbP0.16S3.6O0.4 was enhanced to 3.82 mS cm−1, maintaining a value comparable to commercial standards. The proposed design strategy provides an approach for developing sodium ion solid-state batteries with high energy density and long lifespan. The stability of the solid electrolyte interface at the Na | solid electrolyte interface proves critical for the successful assembly of all-solid-state sodium ion batteries. © 202

Additional file 1 of Activation of oxytocin receptors in mouse GABAergic amacrine cells modulates retinal dopaminergic signaling

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. The expression of OxtRs in mouse retina. Fig. S2. Example images showing OxtR-eYFP neurons are Brn3a (A) or melanopsin (B) positive in the GCL. Fig. S3. eYFP+ neurons in Oxtr-Cre; Ai3 mice are mainly GABAergic, but not glycinergic amacrine cells. Fig. S4. Distribution of OxtR-eYFP neurons in Oxtr-Cre; Ai3 mouse retina. Fig. S5. ChAT and CRH ACs are partially co-localized with OxtR-eYFP neurons, and oxytocin elevates DA level. Fig. S6. The effects of oxytocin and OxtR antagonist on the amplitude of ERG b-wave. Fig. S7. Effects of oxytocin on b-wave amplitude in the presence of V1AR or DA receptor antagonists

Additional file 2 of Activation of oxytocin receptors in mouse GABAergic amacrine cells modulates retinal dopaminergic signaling

Additional file 2. The images of the original, uncropped blots for the OxtR and GAPDH