A Method of EV Detour-to-Recharge Behavior Modeling and Charging Station Deployment

Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly used in transportation. Worldwide use of EVs, for their limited battery capacity, calls for effective planning of EVs charging stations to enhance the efficiency of using EVs. This paper provides a methodology of describing EV detouring behavior for recharging, and based on this, we adopt the extra driving length caused by detouring and the length of uncompleted route as the indicators of evaluating an EV charging station deployment plan. In this way, we can simulate EV behavior based on travel data (demand). Then, a genetic algorithm (GA) based EV charging station sitting optimization method is developed to obtain an effective plan. A detailed case study based on a 100-node 203-branch transportation network within a 30 km * 30 km region is included to test the effectiveness of our method. Insights from our method may be applicable for charging station planning in various transportation networks

Trans-arterial positive ICG staining-guided laparoscopic liver watershed resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

IntroductionAnatomical liver resection is the optimal treatment for patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Laparoscopic Couinaud liver segment resection could be performed easily as liver segments could be stained by ultrasound-guided indocyanine green (ICG) injection into the corresponding segment portal vein. Several smaller liver anatomical units (liver watersheds) have been identified (such as S8v, S8d, S4a, and S4b). However, since portal veins of liver watersheds are too thin to be identified under ultrasound, the boundaries of these liver watersheds could not be stained intraoperatively, making laparoscopic resection of these liver watersheds demanding. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) could identify arteries of liver watersheds with a diameter of less than 2 mm. Yet, its usage for liver watershed staining has not been explored so far.PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the possibility of positive liver watershed staining via trans-arterial ICG injection under DSA examination for navigating laparoscopic watershed-oriented hepatic resection.MethodsWe describe, in a step-by-step approach, the application of trans-arterial ICG injection to stain aimed liver watershed during laparoscopic anatomical hepatectomy. The efficiency and safety of the technique are illustrated and discussed in comparison with the laparoscopic anatomical liver resection via ultrasound-guided liver segment staining.ResultsEight of 10 HCC patients received successful trans-arterial liver watershed staining. The success rate of the trans-artery staining approach was 80%, higher than that of the ultrasound-guided portal vein staining approach (60%). Longer surgical duration was found in patients who underwent the trans-artery staining approach (305.3 ± 23.2 min vs. 268.4 ± 34.7 min in patients who underwent the ultrasound-guided portal vein staining approach, p = 0.004). No significant difference was found in major morbidity, reoperation rate, hospital stay duration, and 30-day and 90-day mortality between the 2 groups.ConclusionsTrans-arterial ICG staining is safe and feasible for staining the aimed liver watershed, navigating watershed-oriented hepatic resection under fluorescence laparoscopy for surgeons

Clinical spectrum and gene mutations in a Chinese cohort with anoctaminopathy

Recessive mutations in anoctamin-5 (ANO5) are causative for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) 2L and non-dysferlin Miyoshi-like distal myopathy (MMD3). ANDS mutations are highly prevalent in European countries; however it is not common in patients of Asian origin, and there is no data regarding the Chinese population. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical manifestations and gene mutations of Chinese patients with anoctaminopathy. A total of five ANDS mutations including four novel mutations and one reported mutation were found in four patients from three families. No hotspot mutation was found. Three patients presented with presymptomatic hyperCKemia and one patient had limb muscle weakness. Muscle imaging of lower limbs showed preferential adductor magnus and medial gastrocnemius involvement. No hotspot mutation has been identified in Chinese patients to date. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Loss-of-function mutations in Lysyl-tRNA synthetase cause various leukoencephalopathy phenotypes

Objective: To expand the clinical spectrum of lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KARS) gene–related diseases, which so far includes Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, congenital visual impairment and microcephaly, and nonsyndromic hearing impairment. Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed on index patients from 4 unrelated families with leukoencephalopathy. Candidate pathogenic variants and their cosegregation were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Effects of mutations on KARS protein function were examined by aminoacylation assays and yeast complementation assays. Results: Common clinical features of the patients in this study included impaired cognitive ability, seizure, hypotonia, ataxia, and abnormal brain imaging, suggesting that the CNS involvement is the main clinical presentation. Six previously unreported and 1 known KARS mutations were identified and cosegregated in these families. Two patients are compound heterozygous for missense mutations, 1 patient is homozygous for a missense mutation, and 1 patient harbored an insertion mutation and a missense mutation. Functional and structural analyses revealed that these mutations impair aminoacylation activity of lysyl-tRNA synthetase, indicating that de- fective KARS function is responsible for the phenotypes in these individuals. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that patients with loss-of-function KARS mutations can manifest CNS disorders, thus broadening the phenotypic spectrum associated with KARS-related disease

Attenuation of Relapsing Fever Neuroborreliosis in Mice by IL-17A Blockade

Relapsing fever due to Borrelia hermsiiis characterized by recurrent bacteremia episodes. However, infection of B. hermsii, if not treated early, can spread to various organs including the central nervous system (CNS). CNS disease manifestations are commonly referred to as relapsing fever neuroborreliosis (RFNB). In the mouse model of B. hermsiiinfection, we have previously shown that the development of RFNB requires innate immune cells as well as T cells. Here, we found that prior to the onset of RFNB, an increase in the systemic proinflammatory cytokine response followed by sustained levels of IP-10 concurrent with the CNS disease phase. RNA sequencing analysis of the spinal cord tissue during the disease phase revealed an association of the interleukin (IL)-17 signaling pathway in RFNB. To test a possible role for IL-17 inRFNB, we compared B. hermsii infection in wild-type and IL-17A2/2mice. Although the onset of bacteremia and protective anti-B. hermsii antibody responses occurred similarly, the blood-brain barrier permeability, proinflammatory cytokine levels, immune cell infiltration in the spinal cord, and RFNB manifestations were significantly diminished in IL-17A2/2mice compared to wild-type mice. Treatment of B. hermsii-infected wild-type mice with anti-IL-17A antibody ameliorated the severity of spinal cord inflammation, microglial cell activation, and RFNB. These data suggest that the IL-17signaling pathway plays a major role in the pathogenesis of RFNB, and IL-17A blockade may be a therapeutic modality for controlling neuroborreliosis

Neonatal rhesus monkey is a potential animal model for studying pathogenesis of EV71 infection

AbstractData from limited autopsies of human patients demonstrate that pathological changes in EV71-infected fatal cases are principally characterized by clear inflammatory lesions in different parts of the CNS; nearly identical changes were found in murine, cynomolgus and rhesus monkey studies which provide evidence of using animal models to investigate the mechanisms of EV71 pathogenesis. Our work uses neonatal rhesus monkeys to investigate a possible model of EV71 pathogenesis and concludes that this model could be applied to provide objective indicators which include clinical manifestations, virus dynamic distribution and pathological changes for observation and evaluation in interpreting the complete process of EV71 infection. This induced systemic infection and other collected indicators in neonatal monkeys could be repeated; the transmission appears to involve infecting new monkeys by contact with feces of infected animals. All data presented suggest that the neonatal rhesus monkey model could shed light on EV71 infection process and pathogenesis

Myeloperoxidase gene-463G > A polymorphism and premature coronary artery disease

We investigated the association between myeloperoxidase gene -463G > A polymorphism and premature coronary artery disease (CAD) in two Chinese population samples: 229 patients and 230 controls. Genotypes were determined by ligase detection reaction-polymerase chain reaction sequencing and the grouping technique. We found lower frequencies of both the A/A genotype and the A allele in patients (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the risk of premature CAD in subjects carrying the AA genotype was reduced by 83% in relation to individuals carrying the G/G genotype (OR = 0.172, 95% CI: 0.057-0.526, p = 0.002). Our results indicate that -463G > A polymorphism of the myeloperoxidase gene is associated with premature CAD in Chinese individuals, suggesting that the AA genotype is a protective factor against premature CAD

Self-Insulating Joint Design for Live-Line Operation Based on the Cable-Driven Parallel-Series Mechanism

This paper proposes a self-insulating joint design based on the cable-driven parallel-series (CDPS) mechanism and electrical insulation analysis. The design provides the motions, mechanic support, and electrical insulation for robotic arms in live-line operation, which can maintain the equipment without manual intervention and power interruption. This CDPS mechanism can integrate four degrees of freedom (DOFs) motion in one joint, while the traditional series joint can only realize one DOF independently. The cable forces in the CDPS are calculated by the inverse kinematics to ensure the safe and flexible operation of the mechanism. The self-insulating joint has certain advantages over other designs because the electrical insulation is integrated into the joint instead of the traditional extra insulation layer. This integration reduces the weight of the arm mechanic structure. In addition, the structural complexity and weight are further reduced by separating the actuators and motors from the joint by using CDPS. Electric field distribution near the joint is calculated by the charge simulation method to analyze the insulation performance under the voltage of 35 kV. The cable forces and electric field distribution of the mechanism are measured to validate the simulation models. The inverse kinematics and insulation models of the self-insulating joint can provide detailed information for the mechanic and insulation design of the robotic arms

MSNet: Multifunctional Feature-Sharing Network for Land-Cover Segmentation

In recent years, the resolution of remote sensing images, especially aerial images, has become higher and higher, and the spans of time and space have become larger and larger. The phenomenon in which one class of objects can produce several kinds of spectra may lead to more errors in detection methods that are based on spectra. For different convolution methods, downsampling can provide some advanced information, which will lead to rough detail extraction; too deep of a network will greatly increase the complexity and calculation time of a model. To solve these problems, a multifunctional feature extraction model called MSNet (multifunctional feature-sharing network) is proposed, which is improved on two levels: depth feature extraction and feature fusion. Firstly, a residual shuffle reorganization branch is proposed; secondly, linear index upsampling with different levels is proposed; finally, the proposed edge feature attention module allows the recovery of detailed features. The combination of the edge feature attention module and linear index upsampling can not only provide benefits in learning detailed information, but can also ensure the accuracy of deep feature extraction. The experiments showed that MSNet achieved 81.33% MIoU on the Landover dataset